Love and Hate
by tennisplaya278
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger venture into a world of classes, homework, N.E.W.T.'s, adventure, deaths and love. As they begin to see each other in a new light, they discover that the line between love and hate is thinner than they all thought.
1. Potions

Love and Hate  
  
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, Stop reading this, and read my story instead!  
  
Summery: There is a very fine line between love and hate. Draco Malfoy has been inching closer and closer and has finally crossed that line but can Hermione do the same? DM/HG  
  
Draco Malfoy glanced up at the Gryffindor table. He could make out the heads of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil gossiping about something they had heard. He could see Seamus and Dean arguing about the Quidditch Cup. He scanned down the rest of the table until his eyes rested upon a young brown- haired woman. The one that was slowly killing him inside.  
  
The blonde-haired boy watched as Hermione Granger talked cheerfully to her two best friends. He watched as she and the-boy-who-lived laughed and Ron's face go crimson. He scowled as he saw Hermione kiss Ron on the cheek and whispered what could only be words of confidence to him. Harry laughed at the two of them and Draco Malfoy wished with his life that he could be Ron, laughing with friends and most of all, having Hermione in his arms and whispering I love you to her over and over again.  
  
The Slytherin Prince had changed over the years, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. He had grown up learning to hate mudbloods. Lucius Malfoy would not settle for anything but the best from his son, and the pressure on Draco was immense. As a little boy, Draco Malfoy had always looked up to his father. He saw him as a man with power, respect and independent. As he grew older, he views about his father changed. Lucius Malfoy was not a man. Draco could see that he was weak. Lucius had no power, he was not independent, he was just a pawn in Voldermort's plans. His father had lost all respect from his son, who used to grow up wanting to follow his footsteps. Now that Lucius was in Azkaban, Draco was free to do as he pleased.  
  
He was also spoiled as a baby. The name Malfoy had always had a certain respect to it. Being born into that name was a thing any child could wish for. His mother showered Draco with toys and games. She always rushed over anytime he began to cry, buying him whatever his heart desired.  
  
This was different. Never in his entire life did he want something and never be able to get it. He watched enviously as Hermione and Ron made their way out of the Great Hall, hand in hand. Looking down on his plate, he decided he wasn't all that hungry anymore and left the Great Hall too.  
  
He exited the Great Hall and turned toward his common room. He had been made Head Boy that year and as a reward, he and the Head Girl were able to have their common room. He had hoped for some quiet as he mumbled the password and went inside, only to find that Ron and Hermione were currently snogging on the couch. Apparently, the Head Girl had heard someone enter the room and pulled away from Ron. Draco muttered an apology, turned around and ran out of the common room.  
  
Throughout his life, Draco Malfoy had never experienced the feeling he got whenever he saw Hermione and Ron together. It was like a rock had been dropped down with immense force on his stomach. He wanted to strangle the red head with all the force he could muster but he knew he couldn't. Draco wanted Hermione to be his and only his. He wanted to be there when she cried, when she laughed, when she was frustrated. He wanted to be there with her and for her, no matter what.  
  
Draco walked outside. He walked past the quidditch pitch where he first fell in love with Hermione, past the forbidden forest where she had entered during 6th year and Draco worried over her and finally sat beneath the tree overlooking the lake. He took a deep breath of January air, pulling his cloak closer to him. The lake was now frozen and he could see couples skating back and forth, holding hands. He saw a pair Ravenclaw first years skating together. He sat there watching them for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, as the sun was setting, the boy kissed the girl on the cheek and they went inside. Draco watched the sun set and when it got too dark, he got up and headed inside.  
  
&&&  
  
The next morning Draco woke up and did his morning routine. He showered, changed and headed down to the common room. As he passed Hermione, he glanced at her and mumbled a barely audible hello. Before she could say anything else, he had left.  
  
He made his way down to the Slytherin table and took his normal seat between Crabbe and Goyle. The two of them hadn't really changed much over the years, they were just as slow and dumb as ever. Sometimes, Draco would wonder why they ever became friends in the first place.  
  
Then he would remember. It was his father who told him to become friends with them. He said that he needed to talk to the "right people" and that was Crabbe and Goyle. He remembered meeting them just a few weeks before his first year started. Back then, he thought that Crabbe and Goyle were friends, people you could talk to. Then, as he got smarter and they didn't, he figured out that he didn't really have anybody. His housemates just feared him.  
  
He pushed his food around on his plate, not very hungry. Pansy was nagging him about the Hogsmede trip on Valentine's Day. He pushed her hand of his shoulder and continued to push the bacon on his plate around.  
  
The clock read 8:50. He got up and left, not saying a word to Pansy, Crabbe or Goyle. When he reached the common room, he went up and got his books. His next class was potions with the Gryffindors and Draco had hoped that he wouldn't have to go but any chance was shot down when Professor Snape appeared for breakfast.  
  
So he made his way down to the dungeons. They were dark, cold and lonely and people only went in there when necessary. Just like Draco. From a young age, Draco had learned to block out his emotions from everyone else. Everyone thought of him as a cruel, selfish boy but he didn't want to be like that anymore.  
  
He sat down in the back of the room like always. He watched as Hermione and Ron came in, holding hands and sitting down next to eachother. A scowl appeared on his face but after a strange look from Pansy, he quickly took it off his face. Then, after about five minutes, Professor Snape walked into the room.  
  
"Quiet down!"  
  
There was no need to say that because as soon as he came in, the room went silient.  
  
"Today we are starting your N.E.W.T. projects. I understand that you had just finished your charms? You will be researching 2 potions of your choice that I must approve of. You will have a partner that I chose for you. Now when I call off your names, please move to the seat near your partner. Misters Potter and Weasley! 10 points from Gryffindor for not paying attention!" He glared in Harry and Ron's direction who were glaring right back at him. Snape muttered some words and waved his wand and a list appeared in front of him. He began to read off names.  
  
"Brown, Parkinson!" Immediately, Lavender and Pansy began a war. Finally, Lavender got up and sat next to Pansy.  
  
"Bulstrode, Patil! Crabbe, Weasley!" Draco smirked as he saw that Ron's face had despair written all over it.  
  
The list continued and Draco only stopped when "Goyle, Potter!" was called. He watched as people stood up and sat down next to their new partners. As the list began to end, Draco still wasn't called yet and to his amusement, neither was Hermione.  
  
"And I think our two heads should be together. Granger, Malfoy!" Draco's jaw nearly hit the floor. Working with Hermione for two months? This was torture.  
  
When neither of them moved, Snape told Hermione to go sit next to Draco. As she sat down, Draco took in her sweet scent. She sat down, turned toward him and opened her mouth. "Malfoy, I am not happy being your partner and I know you wish you were with someone else but if you want to pass this class, which I know you do, then we are going to have to be at least civil toward eachother!"  
  
"Ms. Granger? Distracting a student and interuppting class? Why I think that is 20 points from Gryffindor," Hermione looked as if something inside her had snapped. She began to stand up only to be pulled down by Draco again. When she sat down and regained some of her calm, she looked at him curiously. She mumbled a small thank you and turned her attention back to Proffesor Snape who was explaining the project.  
  
Draco looked up at Hermione again and muttered something barely audible.  
  
"20 points to Gryffindor for being you."  
  
&&&  
  
~Author's Notes~  
  
So what do you think? This is my second attempt after a first disastorous Draco/Hermione story. I think this one is much better. So why are you still reading this? You should be clicking that review button down there! Leave me a nice, long review! The next chapter will be up by at least next Wednsday!  
  
-Tennisplaya278 


	2. Arguments

Love and Hate  
  
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, Stop reading this, and read my story instead!  
  
Summery: There is a very fine line between love and hate. Draco Malfoy has been inching closer and closer and has finally crossed that line but can Hermione do the same? DM/HG  
  
Draco and Hermione had decided to meet in the library after dinner to discuss their project. At first, he was reluctant but in the end, he gave in. They left class, avoiding each other's gaze, and continued their day.  
  
The rest of the day passed by slowly for the blonde Slytherin. In Transfiguration, Neville had somehow transformed his pin into a flock of bees and they instantly began stinging him. In Charms, Ron had said the spell wrong and in turn, 3 large eagles were now attached to Hermione's head. He had a variety of classes, and was the top of his class. Well, he was second. Hermione was the top.  
  
Finally it was dinner, and Draco was a nervous wreck. He was in the common room walking back and forth, wring his hands. He was deciding whether or not he should show up at the library. He glanced at the clock. Dinner was almost over and Hermione was probably making her way to the library right now. Draco shook his head, thinking over all the possibilities.  
  
Then, a large barn owl flew into Draco's room and out the door. It soared above his head and landed on the coffee table. Draco took the letter off the owl's leg and it flew off. Curiously, he began to the read the letter.  
  
Draco,  
  
I cannot say much in this letter. I am writing this from inside Azkaban. The Dark Lord is planning, planning something big.  
  
Lucius  
  
Draco snorted and threw the letter into the fire. He didn't care what his father and his Dark Lord thought anymore. He had other things to worry about.  
  
Like whether or not to go to the library. He sighed and went upstairs to go get his potions things and headed to the library. Once he stepped out of the portrait hole, he could hear a girl yelling from toward the library. Thinking somebody was in danger, Draco sprinted down there. When he got there though, all he could do was gasp.  
  
It was Ron and Hermione arguing in the corridor. Hermione's eyes read anger and Ron, being the idiot, just didn't seem to get the message.  
  
"Ronald Weasley! I can't believe you!"  
  
"What? Is it such a crime to take some pictures?" Ron asked innocently.  
  
"No, but it's humiliating to have a picture of yourself with eagles attached to it! And to top it all off, you just had to blow up a picture in the common room!" Hermione screeched. Draco did not want to be Ron then.  
  
"Oh come on Hermione. Lighten up. It was just a picture, no harm right?" Ron asked uneasily.  
  
"NO HARM?! Do you not understand how embarrassing that was?" Her eyes were beginning to signs of tears. Draco couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something. Luckily for him, he was Head Boy that year.  
  
He pushed his way through the crowd and finally got to the couple in the middle. They seemed to not notice him. He cleared his throat but Ron was still talking. Hermione on the other hand, was staring at him. There was confusion, fear and thankfulness mixed around in her honey brown eyes.  
  
Draco cleared his throat once more and said, "Weasley, I think that disturbing the corridor deserves 10 points off Gryffindor, wouldn't you say?"  
  
This time, Ron noticed him. In a speed Draco didn't know Ron could go, Ron's fist had made contact with Draco's jaw. It was a strong hit and Draco began to bleed. Before he could take points off though, Hermione jumped in.  
  
"Ron! You can't just punch the Head Boy! Do you know how much trouble you could get in?"  
  
"Hermione, stay away from him. He's just an arrogant ferret. Let's go," and Ron grabbed Hermione's wrist and began to drag her away when suddenly, Draco began to speak.  
  
"Weasley, you are weak." Draco got up off the floor and wiped away the blood on his cheek. "You call that standing up for the ones you love? You haven't done anything, Weasley. Nothing." He looked from Ron to Hermione, both wearing similar expressions of shock on their face. He got up off the floor, picked up his things and headed toward the library. He could hear the crowd behind him begin to talk again only to be shushed away by Professor Snape.  
  
As he walked, he couldn't help but think how stupid he was. Hermione was surely going to think that he was the biggest jerk she has ever met. He had almost reached the library when...  
  
He heard somebody running behind him.  
  
Draco spun around to see the flushed face of the one and only Hermione Granger. He was as confused as ever but decided to keep his mouth shut. He only raised his eyebrow at her but when he saw how out of breath she was, he quickly stopped.  
  
When Hermione finally regained her energy, she looked at Draco quizzically. Then she smiled weakly at him. Finding that Draco couldn't or wouldn't say anything, she looked down at her shoes. The tension was immense so together, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger walked into the library in silence.  
  
As they walked, Draco would steal glances at Hermione. Her head was hung low and she was biting her lower lip. She was nervous about being here with the enemy that had knocked some sense into her.  
  
They sat down in a corner, far in the back of the library. Anybody who saw these two together would have thought they were dreaming. The two were silent. Until one of them broke the deafening silence.  
  
"Listen Malfoy. I just wanted to say thanks for coming when you did. I'm not sure I could have taken the embarrassment if Ron had made me cry. Well, after you left, Ron and I made up. We're still together."  
  
Draco was confused. Hermione was thankful? That was fantastic. Hermione and Ron were ok? That wasn't so fantastic. It crushed him inside to know that she had chosen Ron, the boy who had nothing over him, the boy who had everything.  
  
Everything except her.  
  
~Author's Notes~  
  
So here's chapter 2 for you guys! A special thanks to Duj, who gave me some advice on this chapter (Although I don't know how well I followed it.).  
  
Thanks to the 7 reviewers (WOW! A WHOLE 7 REVIEWS ON ONE CHAPTER!):  
  
Hpfan723: Thanks for the review!  
  
Roxy: You asked for more, you've got it! Thanks for the review!  
  
Duj: Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try to show more rather than tell. I do know it's better, teachers are always saying that! You have to understand something though, I am a 12 year old girl and this is only my 3rd try at a fanfic so cut me some slack! But I'm always open for more suggestions! I was lovin the long review!  
  
Keruri: Yep. Draco Malfoy has feelings. It just wouldn't work without them! Thanks for the review!  
  
Alavna: Hm... I've been wondering about that too. See, I just make it up as I go along. If you have any ideas though, review and tell me! Don't worry about not practicing reviewing, just write what you think. Thanks for the review though!  
  
Hannah-Freya: Don't go so nuts that you can't read this story! Thanks for the review!  
  
Sunnysweetie: Thanks for the review! I'm going to go read it right now!  
  
So what are stil reading for? Click that review button down there! 


	3. Malfoy's Don't Cry

Love and Hate  
  
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, Stop reading this, and read my story instead!  
  
Summery: There is a very fine line between love and hate. Draco Malfoy has been inching closer and closer and has finally crossed that line but can Hermione do the same? DM/HG  
  
One of the strangest things was happening to Draco Malfoy. Someone was giving him a sincere thank you. It's one of the strangest things, a thank you, for you never know exactly what they're thanking you for. In this case however, Draco thought he knew what Hermione Granger was saying.  
  
"It wasn't any-" He began to say.  
  
Hermione interrupted. "No. Stop. I know you're just going to deny but I saw what you did. Thanks. And I'm really sorry that Ron hit you."  
  
There it was again. The thank you. It was tied with another confusing thing, an apology. They were perhaps the two most confusing things in the English language.  
  
Draco was dumbfounded. All he did was nod his head. Hermione on the other hand, couldn't be happier. She gleefully took out what seemed to be a novel of notes.  
  
"Ok. So according to my notes, we need to select a potion that takes at least one month to brew, make it and write a two foot long essay. I guess we should at least find the potion today." Hermione explained carefully. Without looking at Draco, she left to go find some books. Draco sighed and went to do the same.  
  
Browsing through the library, he came upon an interesting book. It was old and covered with dust. He ran his fingers over the title. Potions and Legends. Curious, Draco Malfoy skimmed through the book and stopped when he reached Etaf Fo Noit Op.  
  
Etaf Fo Noit Op  
  
The Potion of Fate  
  
The Potion of Fate has long been forgotten. It's powers were put away after a disastrous turn in history by the Minister of Magic. This potion allows the drinker to see their fate the way it was planned to go. Many people who use this however, alter their course in life and disturb the world. The last case of this potion being used was in 1798, by John Hatzis who caused the hole in the ozone layer.  
  
Making this potion is a very complex undertaking. The ingredients however have long been forgotten. We do know that it required long amounts of time, correct temperatures and a skilled potions master.  
  
Draco smirked. That potion would be great to do but he decided he'd rather not take the chance to create another hole in the ozone layer.  
  
He kept flipping through the book and stopped on a page that seemed out of place. The rest of the pages were yellow and torn but this page seemed to be brand new. He looked at the words on the top of the page.  
  
Lafni Topino  
  
The Final Potion  
  
This legendary potion has been depicted in many stories as the Fountain of Youth. One drop of this clear liquid is enough to make a human live forever, without ageing. This potion works exactly the same as Sorcerer's Stone, but is much more powerful and dangerous. If this potion is not made correctly, then the brewer will be doomed to a painful death.  
  
Not much is known about this potion except that it exists. Researchers believe that some of the ingredients are so rare, they only come around every one hundred years. These include the hair of a golden unicorn, fang of a basilik and feather of an angel bird. No one in history has ever been able to create this potion properly.  
  
Draco's eyes widened. Fang of a basilik? Suddenly, he remembered his second year. Didn't Harry stab the diary with the basilik's fang? It sounded as if Voldermort has been trying to get all the ingredients to create this potion and was succeeding. He tore out the page and stuffed it into his pocket.  
  
Just then, Hermione came over. Her eyes were hidden by the stack of books she was carrying. He rolled his eyes. Once a bookworm, always a bookworm.  
  
"Here," She dropped the books on the table, "There's one potion in here that sounded good. It's in The Potion's Master. If you don't want that one though, that's what all these other books are for."  
  
Hermione handed him a thick but fairly new book. He opened it up to the page Hermione had marked earlier.  
  
Weather Changer  
  
This potion has the ability to change the weather to the brewer's liking. The changes are small and temporary but are ideal for weddings, quidditch matches and dates.  
  
The Ingredients:  
  
1 Eye of Newt 3 skins of Lizard 4 Mahogany Roots (4-6 inches) 2 drops of water 7 cups of unicorn blood  
  
Procedure:  
  
Pour the unicorn blood in slowly. While stirring the blood clockwise, add the 2 drops of water. The potion should be a cloudy blue. Put in the eye of newt and then stop stirring. Put in the 4 mahogany roots, one at a time. Stir 3 times counter clockwise and stop. Add 2 skins of lizard and soon a foam will appear on the top of your potion. Dip the last skin in but do not place it in. Stir 5 times clockwise. The foam will be gone and your potion should be green with wisps of green smoke coming out of the cauldron..  
  
How to Use:  
  
Once you have completed the potion, say the words "Numblas Concret" into the smoke. The potion will turn a light pink and then show the weather 1 mile around you.  
  
If it is cloudy, simply blow lightly on the clouds to move them. If you want it to rain, then sprinkle some water onto a cloud.  
  
"So what do you think? Is it ok?" Hermione asked eagerly.  
  
Draco shrugged and Hermione took that as a yes. She left him to go return some books. He was going to go help her but then...  
  
"Oh Drakie!"  
  
He spun around to see the face of Pansy Parkinson. His face grimaced as he saw her waving to him and running toward him. He braced himself for impact.  
  
"Thank goodness you're alright!" She hugged him fiercely. "When I couldn't find you in the common room, I began to panic!" Finally she let go. "You got a letter, I suggest you read it away from the eyes of the MUDBLOOD over there."  
  
Confused, he turned toward the shelves to see Hermione staring at the two of them. Draco cringed. She must have thought that he liked Pansy.  
  
"I think I'll just leave the two of you alone..." Her voice trailed off as she backed away from them. He turned his attention back to the letter in Pansy's hand.  
  
"Give me the letter Pansy." He held out his hand.  
  
"Can't you just forget the letter for a little bit and focus on the girl of your dreams?" She asked, blinking non stop.  
  
"Well, I don't see the girl of my dreams in here so give me the letter!" Draco was irritated. This was taking far too long.  
  
Pansy pouted. "Fine then," She handed him the letter. "I'm not talking to you Draco Malfoy,"  
  
"And that is bad in what way?" He asked. Pansy gasped and stormed away.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes as she walked away. Pansy was so naïve sometimes.  
  
He opened his letter. He didn't recognize the handwriting.  
  
Dear Mr. Malfoy,  
  
We are sorry to inform you that Narcissa Malfoy died last night. She had a heart attack and died. Her funeral will be held on January 27th at 7:00pm in Malfoy Manor. The will reading will be held the same day after the funeral, also at Malfoy Manor.  
  
With Sympathy,  
  
Healer Lindsey Christensen  
  
Grief swept through Draco's body at lightning speed. His mother was the only one in his life who ever cared for him. He needed to cry, let out all his anger and grief. Only one problem.  
  
Malfoy's don't cry.  
  
~Author's Notes~  
  
Ok, so no reviews for the last chapter? That's alright. I know you guys are just biding your time to surprise me right? Yeah, well this chapter was slow. The more reviews, the faster I work to get the next chapter up. Why not press that review button down there? 


	4. Weasels and Ferrets

Love and Hate  
  
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, Stop reading this, and read my story instead!  
  
Summery: There is a very fine line between love and hate. Draco Malfoy has been inching closer and closer and has finally crossed that line but can Hermione do the same? DM/HG  
  
Draco Malfoy was laying on his bed and trying hard not to cry. His mother had passed away and he couldn't get over it.  
  
Narcissa Malfoy was the only person in his life that cared for him. When his father would yell at him, she would stand up for him, even if that meant getting hit. If he fell down she would help him up. When he cried, she would wipe away his tears.  
  
So where was she now? Draco needed her more then ever. He needed someone he could talk to about Hermione, school, his friends, his father, and her death. Draco Malfoy missed his mother.  
  
He glanced at the clock. It was getting to be late and he could hear Crabbe and Goyle's snores. He groaned and turned over.  
  
During the night, he tossed and turned, finally falling asleep. His slumber didn't last long for in a few hours, Draco woke up sweating and panting. Figuring out that he wouldn't get any more sleep, he made his way out of the dormitory and out the portrait hole. He was going to go to a place where he could just think.  
  
He was going to the Astronomy Tower.  
  
Quietly, Draco blended into the walls. He crept down long corridors, keeping an eye out for Filch, Peeves and Mrs. Norris. He passed knights, portraits and doors, none of which mattered much to him. Finally he got to his destination. He silently walked up the stairs and toward the window only to find that he wasn't alone. Someone else was staring out the window and gazing at the stars. Draco couldn't tell who it was from where he was standing and softly made his way closer. To his surprise it was Hermione Granger.  
  
He watched her in silence and saw that she had tears coming down her eyes. He saw her lips moving and paused to her what she was saying.  
  
"...bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might. Grant the wish I wish tonight." She closed her eyes and grabbed what seemed to be a necklace around her neck. She opened her eyes soon after when a small bird flew next to her. A small smile appeared through the tear-stricken face. She began to talk to it.  
  
"I wish I were a bird. That way I could fly away from here. Fly away from all my problems and just be free. In fact..." The girl that Draco had been watching suddenly turned into a phoenix. Draco gasped. Hermione Granger was an unregistered animagus.  
  
So know-it-all Granger could break the rules after all. Who knew? Then again, she was friends with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, the two biggest troublemakers in school since Fred and George Weasley.  
  
The phoenix flew out the window and out onto the crisp air. Draco moved quickly to the window and sat there, watching the phoenix soar around the sky. It was a beautiful and mesmerizing sight. He watched her fly until the break of dawn when he fell asleep right there on the window.  
  
What he didn't know was that a certain Hermione Granger had found out that he was watching her.  
  
&&&  
  
Draco woke up when he heard the chatter of students in the hall. He yawned and stretched his arms. He shook his head and scowled. There was no time to go do his hair. Sighing, he let his silver blonde hair fall in face and headed back toward the common room to get his things.  
  
However, he learned to like his hair like that when he got catcalls and approving looks from the female population of the school. Portraits were eyeing him with lopsided grins. Even Loony Lovegood gave him a compliment.  
  
He smirked as he walked past a group of giggling girls and their boyfriends who glared at him. As he muttered the password and entered the room, he couldn't help but think how much he liked his new hairstyle. Everyone seemed to be falling under his charm.  
  
Everyone that was, except for Hermione Granger. When he walked into the common room, she barely glanced at him and then leaving the room. Draco was furious. How could she not look at him? Every other girl in school seemed to be falling for him.  
  
But Hermione wasn't just any girl. She was special and she should've been his.  
  
Dong. Dong Dong...  
  
Oh no. He was going to be late. Hurriedly, he began to gather his things and sprinted out of the portrait hole. McGonagall was going to kill him.  
  
He raced to beat the clock when he bumped into someone. They both fell down and Draco's things went flying. Quickly, he tried to get his things back together. When he looked up to see who he had knocked over, his stomach flew up to his throat. It was Hermione.  
  
"Malfoy! What are you doing?" She asked, trying to stand up.  
  
He held out his hand and to his surprise, she took it. "I'm sorry Hermione but I really have to go. I'm going to be late for transfiguration! Wait, what are you doing here? C'mon, we're going to be late!" Draco began to run, but when he didn't hear Hermione's footsteps behind him, he stopped.  
  
"First of all, it's Saturday you dimwit. Secondly, you called me Hermione..." Suddenly, she became interested in her shoes.  
  
Draco noticed his blunder and mentally slapped himself for it. She was supposed to be Granger or mudblood. Not Hermione.  
  
He smirked. "Yeah. Don't expect it to happen again Mudblood."  
  
It pained him inside to see Hermione like that. She was hurt and he could tell. Just as soon as it happened though, the brave Gryffindor look came out.  
  
"Well your nothing but a ferret to me. Ron was right. You are just an arrogant jerk" Holding her head up high, she walked away from him.  
  
Draco sighed.  
  
Weasel: 1, Ferret: 0  
  
~Author's Notes~  
  
Much thanks to;  
  
Creeky Bush: Wow. 2 reviews! Thanks!  
  
Jomai: Thanks for the review! I'm going to go read your story now!  
  
Boring chapter, I know. It's ok though. It should get more intresting once it gets farther into the story. Oh and before I forget, how do you make words bold and italize them? I have Microsoft Word but I don't think it matters does it? Ok, so enough questions. Review!  
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	5. Dreams

Love and Hate 

By Tennisplaya278

_ To love and be loved is like feeling the sun on both sides _

_-David Viscott-_

There was something strange going on at Hogwarts, and Draco Malfoy could tell what it was. Romance was showing itself in the corridors and with Valentine's Day approaching, things would only get worse.

It was Saturday. That meant either a quidditch game or a Hogsmead trip. This weekend, it was the latter. Draco Malfoy however, didn't want to go. Alone that is.

He was furious with himself. Calling Hermione mudblood was not the right choice. Hermione was mad at him and had run off to find her boyfriend for comfort.

He cringed. Her _boyfriend_. Draco was supposed to be the one giving comfort, not the one causing for it to be needed. Dodging stares from the portraits, he stormed back to the common room. What he needed was a nice, long nap. He needed sometime away from all the love-sick students.

&&&

"Ah. Draco Malfoy. From what I hear, you are spending an increasing amount of time with a, dare I say, mudblood?"

_That voice sent shivers up his spine._

_"Of course not Master. Mudbloods are useless. Mudbloods are filth. Mudbloods deserve to die" _

_"Good, good. Of course, we must confirm this, after all you are almost as skilled as I am in occumenlcy. Lucius?"_

_Suddenly, the big oak door swung open and in walked Lucius Malfoy. Draco watched in horror when he saw what his father had brought in._

_It was a beaten Hermione Granger._

_"Now Draco. You are to kill this pathetic girl. She is not the one Hermione Granger?"_

_Draco was helpless. He wouldn't kill Hermione, no matter what. Not even if his own life was on the line…_

_With bravery he thought he didn't have, he answered Voldermort. "Hell no. You want her dead? You kill me too."_

_And Voldermort laughed a cold hearted laugh, his piercing eyes never leaving Draco's face._

_"You want it that way? Maybe we'll have some fun with you. Watch her suffer before finishing you off yourself. Lucius, if you may?"_

_And Lucius came over, an evil glint now present in his eyes, and muttered a spell which sent Draco flying toward a chair. With another spell, he was bound tightly to the chair, unable to move.  He struggled to release himself from this position, but found that the ropes were tied too tightly. _

_Hermione was now in the middle of the room. She was still unconscious and for that, Draco was thankful. At least now when they killed her, it would be painless. _

Just as soon as he thought it, the opposite happened. Hermione's eyes fluttered open and he could see distress in them. She looked over to Draco and mouthed 'Save me' before Voldermort uttered those fateful words.

_"Avada Kedavra"_

_Hermione Granger was dead._

_Draco tried to scream but the only noise he could make were sobs for the only one he loved._

_Then, those blood, red eyes rested upon Draco. _

_"Boy, you have disowned your family name. You deserve to die. Avada Kedavra!"  
  
And with that, Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, was dead._

&&&

Dong, dong…

10 times the bell rang. Draco has just woken up. That dream that had felt so real. For a brief moment, he was sure that Hermione was gone. Then he realized what an idiot he was when he heard the door next to him open and close. Of course it was Hermione. Grumbling, he made his way out of the portrait hole and toward the kitchen. He needed a snack. And get his mind off the brunette-haired Gryffindor…

As he walked, he was disgusted by the amount of couples wandering alone. Once or twice he thought he saw a flash of red but he was sure it was his imagination. After all, it was getting late and little miss perfect couldn't be caught out after hours.

He smirked as he remembered the time he had seen Hagrid's dragon. Oh sure he got detention, but getting the "Golden Trio" in some trouble was well worth it.

When he got to the portrait, he tickled the pear and it swung open. He walked in to find several house elves.

Again he thought of Hermione and her S.P.E.W. (Society for Protection of Elvish Welfare). He remembered how she had pestered everyone in the library to join, and how Draco so wanted to join and see her happy. Sighing, he realized that whatever he felt for Hermione now, he sure didn't feel about her the same way two years ago.

His train of thought was interrupted by a squeaking and slightly shaking house elf.

"Mister? Wh-what can Flonsy do for you?"

"Get me some pumpkin juice and some cake!" He ordered. As a Malfoy, he was used to ordering house elves around. It never ceased to amaze him how obedient they were. Or how anyone could possibly want to free them.

"Yes s-sir."

The elf scurried away as Draco waited impatiently. He glanced at his watch. 10:55pm. He mentally kicked himself. He had 5 minutes to get back to the common room. Even the head boy couldn't have been caught after hours.

In the end, hunger got the best of him and he waited for his food. When it did come, he shoved the food into his mouth. He was finished and left without another glance at the house elves.

Dying to get back to the common room, he crept quietly and quickly down the corridors. He passed portraits and knights in shining armor. Without caring anymore, he made a mad dash toward the stairs. It was late and Filch was bound to be about.

He turned the corner and his face grew grim as he saw the lamp like eyes of Mrs. Norris. Purring, it ran away to find Filch. Not wanting to get in trouble, Draco turned to a different set of stairs and sprinted up. He turned again and finally made his way back to his corridor. Draco sighed and slowly walked toward the portrait. However, he wouldn't reach it, for in the one moment, he was pulled back into the shadows.

"I think we should have a little chat Mr. Malfoy."

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, Stop reading this, and read my story instead!-

Author's Notes

That was a tough chapter to write. I couldn't think of anything for this and I'm finding that I'm having trouble with this story. If anyone has any suggestions at all, please review and tell me about them!

Thanks to:

Jomai: Thanks for the review!

CassandraTheEvil: Thanks for the tip! Haha. If you really want to borrow my brain, you may, but I get to borrow yours! Thanks for reviewing!

I'm pumped and ready for the next chapter. When you ask? Why the more reviews I get, the faster I update! By the way, have you noticed the new format? I like it MUCH better.


	6. Change

**Love and Hate**

**By Tennisplaya278**

**__**E_verything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. _

_-Confucius-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, Stop reading this, and read my story instead!-

Draco struggled to release himself from the grip on him. It was useless. The person holding him hostage had muttered a spell that made it so Draco couldn't move.

"Oh. Is the ferret feeling, oh I don't know, helpless?" The person walked around to face him, making sure his face was still hidden by the shadows. "I'm going to say this once, and only once Malfoy. Stay away from Hermione."

A bit of red appeared out of the shadows. All of a sudden, Draco realized who it was.

Ronald Weasley.

"You don't like us, we don't like you and hell Hermione hates you. So stay away from her."

With a flick of his wand, the spell was lifted. Ron shoved him onto the floor. Draco squinted up into Ron's eyes. He had finally stepped out of the shadows and was now glaring down at him. Draco could see anger and hatred rising in his eyes. Ron spat on the ground.

"I mean it Malfoy"

&&&

The days passed by and everything went back to normal. Or at least, that's how Draco acted. Inside it was killing him to act this way. He never chose this life. It was chosen for him…

Ron's words had inflicted a pain in his heart that he just couldn't place. It was heart-breaking hearing that Hermione hated him. He tried to be optimistic. After all there was still a small chance that she could fall in love with him. Draco fell for her. Even though he tried his best to believe this, a little voice deep down was telling him that he had no chance with her. He knew it was true.

Working with Hermione in Potions was pure agony. He did what was expected of him. He researched, wrote, and brewed along side her but he never said a word to her. He would simply shake or nod his head. Then there was also times outside of class. Draco still teased her and laughed along with his Slytherin friends but it was an empty laugh. It just wasn't the same thing.

There was one improvement that he did make though. One that nobody would notice. Never again did he call her, nor anyone else, a mudblood. Ever.

And although that seemed like such a small thing and Draco was sure that she didn't notice, she did.

&&&

Hermione Granger was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, reading Hogwarts: A History II. Ron was playing wizard's chess with Harry, who had lost the first 3 times. However, Hermione's thoughts kept drifting away from her book and toward a certain blonde-haired Slytherin…

'_What in the world is going on with Dra-Malfoy? Heck, I almost called him Draco! He hasn't called me mudblood in ages. What is going on?'_

"Yes! I won again Harry! Another one?" Ron yelled out. He was setting up the board and listening to Harry's groans.

"Hey Ron! Ron! RON!" Hermione screeched. Ron didn't notice her until Harry gently nudged him to look over in her direction. He smiled.

With a sincere look on his face he asked, "Hey Hermione. What's wrong?" He moved one of his chess pieces.

She sighed. Boys will be boys. "Have you noticed anything wrong with Malfoy?"

"Wrong? There's nothing wrong with him. He's just being the same arrogant ferret boy he always is. Why?"

"Well, I mean…he doesn't call me mudblood anymore. He never refers to his father. He never picks fights with you guys anymore. He doesn't even call you Weasel and Scarhead. That's strange right?"

"Oh, come off it Hermione. His father probably just put him under the Imperious Curse. It's not your problem." He shrugged.

"But Ron! That's illegal! And besides, Malfoy can't be under the Imperious Curse. If he was, we would've known," she said in her matter-of-factly tone.

"We couldn't tell that Crouch was under the Imperious Curse." Ron pointed out.

"Honestly Ron, don't you read? It's very hard for someone to act normal while under the Imperious Curse if you've known them for a long time. We've known Malfoy since we were 11 and if anyone could tell if he was under the Imperious Curse, it's us. We didn't know about Crouch because we had never met him before."

"So what do you expect we do Ms. Granger?" Ron was obviously annoyed.

Hermione sighed, "I don't know Ron. I really don't know."

There was an awkward silence which no one wanted to break. Hermione's eyes turned toward her shoes and Ron turned away to face the chessboard. It was broken however when Harry said, "Um…Ron? Checkmate."

&&&

Draco was working on his potion's project. He was stirring away at the potion, trying to read the instructions at the same time. He was scared that he was going to mess up the potion. However, he wasn't the Head Boy for just any reason. Draco was an excellent potions maker and could well adjust to any problems.

Hermione had walked in earlier. Draco didn't notice. He was concentrating hard on the potion.

Hermione studied him for a moment. He didn't look quite bad. His platinum blonde hair was hanging loosely over his face and there were drops of sweat appearing on his face.

_'No Hermione. You can't think of him like that. You have a boyfriend. He's Ron and Harry's enemy. He's your enemy.'_

_'But is he really your enemy? He sure doesn't act like it'_

_'Oh what do you know?'_

She argued with herself for a while before she anything.

"Need any help there, Draco?" Hermione asked.

Draco never looked up at her. He simply answered, "Finally warming up to me now are you Granger?"

Hermione had a puzzled look on her face. Then it hit her. "No _Malfoy._ You never answered my question. Do you any help?"

"Why not? It would certainly help."

Hermione walked over to the cauldron that was now had a layer of foam on it. Now she could fully understand why Draco was sweating. The potion was releasing tons of heat. She read the instructions. The only thing left was to dip the skin, stir and let it simmer. She walked around Draco and accidentally brushed up against him. A shiver ran through her body but she paid no attention to it. When she came back, Draco was waiting for her.

She reached out to dip the skin into the potion but Draco mistook that as her giving it to him. Their hands collided and Hermione could feel a shock and was sure the same thing happened to Draco. She glanced up into his stormy grey eyes. They were beautiful, so deep and mysterious. Hermione wanted to just get lost in his eyes and was well on her way to. His eyes grew larger by the second. He was coming closer to her face. He was much to close but Hermione didn't care. All that she could focus on were those beautiful eyes of his. She could feel his warm breath on her face.

Neither of them noticed that somebody was walking into their common room. If they had, maybe they would've stopped. But they didn't.

"Stupefy!"

Draco Malfoy glowed red for a moment, before falling backward.

Author's Notes

Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I appreciate them a lot!

CCBChunks: Thanks for the review! Although I did have to look up obselete... haha.

Laussica: I updated! Thanks for the review!

Creeky Bush: Thanks for the review!

Alavna: Thanks for the review! Great idea…you'll just have to wait and see. Oh and if you want to, I could read your fanfic and give you some ideas? My email is tennisplaya278hotmail.com Thanks!

CassandraTheEvil: Wow! What a long review! XD. And I agree, if they get together in the books, I don't know what I'll do. But I think they will which really sucks but then again, that's life. Thanks for the idea. Good luck with home schooling!

So, review! Next chapter coming soon! And one more thing.

This chapter contained some things from Hermione's PoV. Should I do some more of that, or just keep it at Draco's? Review and tell me!


	7. Flight

Love and Hate

**By Tennisplaya278**

_  
Love changes darkness into light and makes the heart take a wingless flight. ___

_-Helen Steiner Rice-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, Stop reading this, and read my story instead!-

Draco's eyes were wide open in shock. Hermione was the same.

There, standing in the middle of the common room was Ronald Weasley.

She looked down at him and pulled her wand. Muttering a few words, Draco was rid of the spell. He slowly stood up and stood next to Hermione.

Ron was walking toward them, his eyes ablaze. His wand was out and he looked like he was ready to kill. But the question was, who was he mad at?

Instinctively, Draco walked in front of Hermione, shielding her from Ron. What he didn't expect was that she came out and walked in front of him. After all, she was Harry Potter's best friend. She could handle Ron's temper.

"Hermione, move out of the way. This spell isn't meant for you." Ron said in a dangerously low voice.

"No Ron. I'm not going to let you hurt him." Hermione said, spreading out her arms for effect.

Draco was surprised. What the heck had gotten into her? Ron seemed to have the same question in his head.

"What is going on with you? You – he – Malfoy was going to kiss you! If you forgot, I am your boyfriend!" He took another step toward her.

"I'm not Head Girl for just any reason Ron. I can take care of myself." She pushed Draco back.

"Yes, I could really see that when he was going to _kiss_ you. Or maybe this has been going on for quite some time now? Yeah, you and Malfoy getting cozy?" Ron took another step.

"What?! You think I am going around with Malfoy? Well for your information _Ronald_  I am doing nothing of the sort!" Hermione's face was red.

Ron ignored the last comment. "Well I guess friendship doesn't mean anything to you. All that matters is money and power right?" He took another step. Ron was only mere inches away from her now. "I love you Hermione but I guess those words don't mean anything to you right? All this time I thought you loved me too but I guess not. Good-bye Hermione." He turned and looked at Draco. "I thought I told you Malfoy. Stay away from her." Then, without looking back, Ron left the common room.

Draco turned to look at Hermione. She had tears welling up in her eyes. When Ron left, she let them fall down her face. Uncertainly, Draco walked over to her and sat down on the floor next to her. Hermione looked at him with her tearstained face. He gave her a warm smile.

She stood up and ran to her room, leaving a very confused Draco on the floor.

&&&

It was February and romance was blossoming like never before. Valentine's day was in just a week and students were running around trying to find dates for the Hogsmede trip. Hermione didn't. She had given up on Ron. He was the reason that she was miserable. Why did she have to be so stupid that night?

Countless times, Draco had tried to apologize to her. She didn't want to hear any of them. Since when could she trust him?

Of course she still had to work with him on the potion's project which, thankfully, was almost completed. All they had to do was finish up their essay and test the potion and they were free as birds.

Hermione had decided to use it on Valentine's Day. Whether or not it would be helpful was up to her.

In fact, she was contemplating on this one night.

'_Well of course there's the fact that I wouldn't have to see all those love sick students in Hogsmede. Then again, I wouldn't be able to go. If I did make it nice weather, then most people would go to Hogsmede and I plan to go. But if I don't have nice weather, then all these couples will be locked up in Hogwarts WITH me. I think I'm going to go crazy from this!'_

She sighed and said she would sort it out later. Anyways, it was dinner.

That night, she had a visitor.

Hermione was staring into the fire. She was thinking about everything that had happened during the past weeks. Her thoughts were interrupted when somebody cleared their throat. She looked around and her eyes met emerald ones. It wasn't surprising. She knew why he was here. Harry wanted to talk with her about Ron. He came over and sat down next to her.

"Hey," Hermione calmed down a bit. There was something about his presence that made her feel cool down. Harry smiled. "You know why I'm here. Want to tell me?"

Hermione sighed. There was no lying to him. "I'm sorry Harry. I really am." She closed her eyes. "I don't know what came over me. I just wish Ron would talk to me or even just look at me." It was true. Ron hadn't looked at her since that night.

"Don't worry. You know what Ron's like. He'll come around. I'll talk to him. I mean, you two have been in fights before,"

"Yeah but this is different. Usually, I could believe I was right and he was wrong, but now I know I'm wrong. It's so confusing."

Harry gave a small laugh. "Yeah I know. The day Hermione Granger gets something wrong is the day that Neville gets an Outstanding in Potions."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks Harry, but it's best if you go now. I wouldn't want you to get caught by Filch."

"Alright. Take care Hermione."

&&&

A pale figure soared across the sky in the moonlight. It was Draco Malfoy on his newly acquired Thunderbolt. Yes, it was after hours but he didn't care. He just needed some time to think.

He just stared aimlessly out into the distance, flying farther and farther away from Hogwarts. It was a magical sight, with the gigantic castle and the lights flickering within the windows against the clear black sky.

Then Draco saw something. It was a flash of red. He silently flew away from the light, trying to keep himself hidden. He watched the red dot slowly begin to grow into a beautiful phoenix and he knew what it was. It was Hermione on another of her night time flights, just as he was.

He was mesmerized by the sight of her.

With every flutter of her wings, she grew larger and larger and Draco tried to draw himself farther back into the shadows. Hermione however, was just too smart for that. She came closer and Draco noticed that she wore a necklace around her neck. It was the same one that she had that night. He tried to get another look at it but the phoenix came over and landed on his broom. In it's beak held a piece of paper.

_Get down onto the quidditch pitch. We need to talk._

Feeling quite stupid, he nodded to her. He gently pushed down the broom and landed.

Once back on solid ground, the phoenix transfigured back into Hermione Granger.

He gazed into her eyes. They were filled with so many emotions that Draco wondered how she didn't just burst. Those lovely brown orbs were filled with sadness, fear, despise and mostly confusion.

"Listen Malfoy. What has happened has happened and I would really like it if you didn't tell anyone. Ron's mad as it is and…" Her voice trailed off.

"I haven't, have or will tell anyone. It was just an accident. If there's anyway I can help, then by all means tell me." Inside, Draco knew he was lieing. It wasn't an accident. It was fate.

Hermione didn't look at him, but instead toyed around with the necklace.

"That's a nice necklace." Draco commented, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"Thanks. I got it from Harry for my birthday. It is nice isn't it. He told me that it was a mood necklace, changes color to reflect my mood." Draco looked at it. Right now it was a peaceful blue color. "See that?" She pointed to the necklace. "It means that I'm happy and content. Which I guess I am, now that everything's ok again."  She smiled again.  "Um… Yes, that's all I wanted to say. I think we should head up now, it's getting pretty late. Oh, and can you please not tell anyone about me being an animagus?" Her eyes filled with hope.

"Of course I won't. Say, why don't you ride up with me?" Draco asked.

She looked skeptical at first, but finally she caved and said yes. They both got onto the broom and headed off toward their window.

And maybe, if it was brighter or their eyes weren't locked against each other, then just maybe they would have noticed.

Against the clear black sky, Hermione's necklace turned a beautiful light pink.

-Author's Notes-

Whoo. Bit of trouble with this one as well. Couldn't decide who the stupifer was going to be. I kept going back from Ron to Hary to Pansy to Blaise and even to Neville! In the end, as you read, I chose Ron for obvious reasons. Somebody mentioned that Ron was getting a tad OOC and yes he will be getting more and more OOC as we get through the story. Well, maybe not but I'm warning you!

Plus, there was some Hermione's PoVs. Hope that was ok!

Much thanks to the following reviewers:

**Vampy The Choosen One**: Thanks for the review!

**Hamsters R Us**: Thanks for the review! Love your user name!

**Jomai**: Thanks for reviewing!

**CCBChunks**: Thanks for the review! Yes, he's going to be a little OOC in my story. That's life.


	8. Reality and Truth

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_If you give a mouse a cookie, it will probably ask for milk _

_-If You Give A Mouse Cookie-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

Draco wanted to scream. 

He was feeling so many things at the moment. Anger at Ron, Grief from his mother's death, frustration with school, annoyance toward Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy, but mostly happiness from that joy ride with Hermione.

More and more, oblivious to his attention, his thoughts were drifting to Hermione. He couldn't get his mind off her. From her chestnut hair, to her honey brown eyes, from her bravery to her laughter, everything he did or saw reminded him of Hermione.

He knew she had forgiven him, although she never admitted it. That one night in particular, he could see it all in her eyes. Her eyes were begging for forgiveness and he already given it to her ages ago.

Currently, he was working on his potion's essay. Hermione was nowhere in sight. She had gone to the Gryffindor common room to help Harry with _his _potion's essay. Draco didn't blame him. He had once worked with Goyle on a project and he couldn't stand it. He never did any of the work, but just sat there like a log. From that day onward, he had vowed to never work with her again. Hermione on the other hand was just the opposite. She was a brilliant worker and a quick thinker.

Hah. His thoughts were back on her in just a few seconds. He looked down at the piece of parchment that was on the desk in front of him. On there were two completely different handwritings. One was neat, small and easy to read. The other was larger, messier and may have been just a tad bit harder to read. Just exactly like the people who wrote them.

Tapping the quill against the desk, he thought about whom he was going to Hogsmede with on Valentine's Day. He _had _to find a date. It was expected of him. At first he thought he would find a random girl in the hallway and ask her. Surely she would say yes. Who could resist him? But he had done that the past years and the day had ended up being a disaster. Yes, he only wanted to go with somebody he could have fun with. Who could that be?

Draco knew the answer to this question off the top of his head.

If it was the last thing he did, he would go with Hermione Granger.

&&&

"Veriteserum. How ironic."

Hermione was sitting next to Harry, helping him with his essay. He and Goyle were doing there's on Veriteserum. It was a tough choice but Hermione could see why they had chosen it, considering what had happened at the end of last year.

_"Drink up Potter." Lucius Malfoy was beckoning a tied up Harry to drink a vile green liquid._

_"Not in your life Lucius" _

_"We'll see about that. Imperio!"_

_Harry was fighting a battle with himself. Hermione watched helplessly on the side, as his mouth grew larger and larger. Lucius smirked that famous Malfoy smirk, as he slowly poured the liquid down Harry's throat. _

_"Now Potter. You've just been fed Veriterseum. You do know what that does to you correct? Of course your puny mind probably couldn't comprehend what truly was at work." He laughed along with all the other Death Eaters holding the other members of the DA captive._

_"First question. Where is Dum-Ah!"_

_Lucius was stupefied. (Like father like son)_

_Nobody ever _did _figure out who stupefied Malfoy Sr., but Hermione had a hunch. Just seconds later, she could see Goyle's wand clutched tightly in his hand with faint red light emitting from the end._

She was shocked. Not only did she doubt his intellegence to produce the stunning spell, she couldn't believe he stood up to Lucius.

So Hermione kept on trying to help Harry understand what he was writing about. Goyle wasn't anywhere and according to Harry, Goyle had been avoiding him the entire time.

They were almost done with the essay and the common room was empty except for them. Some where between writing and spilling ink, Ron came down from the dormitory. His shocking red hair was messy and his eyelids were drooping. When he saw Hermione though, his eyes shot wide open and his jaw dropped. Harry on the other hand, had suddenly became very silent. He looked from Hermione to Ron and excused himself, ignoring the pleading look in her eyes.

Ron filled in Harry's absent space. There was an awkward silence where nobody wanted to say anything that could start another fight between them. The only sound clear was the faint crackling of the fire. Finally, when nobody could stand it any more, a voice broke through the quiet.

"I'm sorry Hermione." His voice was soft and gentle, yet full of confidence, very rare for Ron to have. Hermione was still avoiding his eyes.

"But I meant every word of it. I love you Hermione. Why can't you love me?"

She finally looked at his eyes. Mingled in with the blue was honesty. He loved her. Ronald Weasley loved Hermione Granger.

But did he really?

Love is such a fickle, funny thing that can confuse and amuse even the most sensible people. She had never been in love herself and the way she felt right now, she was sure she wasn't in love with the man before her. In her books, they two lovers would feel their heart burst, feel a need to be with them every waking moment, longing to just hear their voice every second. And in each story, the woman and man would love each other, never just one loving the other.

But that was fantasy. This was real.

She looked up at Ron and couldn't find an answer to his question. Perhaps there was something wrong with her. Maybe she couldn't love. Or maybe, she just loved somebody else.

"Ron, are you sure? Are you sure that you lo-love me?" She spluttered.

"Yes Hermione. Of course I am. When have I ever rushed into something without making sure?"

Hermione couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. That was such like Ron. He didn't seem to understand. His eyebrows pushed together. Then she could see realization on his face.

"Oh. Don't answer that." His face became serious again. "But honestly. Why can't you love me?"

Sincerely, Hermione answered, "Look Ron. I think you are mistaken. You just love me as a friend. That's it. A friend. Just really good friends."

"No Hermione. I really love you but if you don't love me that's ok too." A flash of pain swept across his eyes. "I'll be here if you want to talk. And I'm really sorry about everything." Ron was going to leave when Hermione pulled him back.

"I forgive you Ron. Why don't you walk with me back to my common room? We can talk along the way."

His face lit up. "Sure. That would be great."

-Author's Notes-

A good question was brought up in a review.

What the heck does light pink mean?

Well I thought it was a bit obvious but then again, I'm writing the story. Usually pink means love. So in this case, when her mood necklace turned light pink, it meant that she was starting to fall for Draco. Hope that cleared it up!

Another chapter done! Ok so here's what's going on. My computer is broken (the one with internet connection) so I might not update as often as I do. None the less, I do have a laptop in my room (Yeah, I know your jealous!) so I'm typing up a couple more chapters. Any ideas would be welcome!

I would like to thank CCBChunks and Jomai for reviewing!

And I would defiantly like to thank those people who put me on their favorite stories list! 3 people! And those who put me on their author alert list! 6 people!

So click that little blueish-purple button down there and write a nice, long review!


	9. Sarcasm

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_You know the world is going crazy when the best golfer is a black guy, the best rapper is a white guy, the tallest player in the NBA is Chinese, Germany doesn't want to go to war, France is accusing us of arrogance and the three most powerful people in the U.S.A. are named Bush, Dick and Colon. _

_- Chris Rock -_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead! -

Another uncomfortable silence fell upon the pair as they made their way down the long corridors. It was still before hours and they had every right to be there, but years of sneaking out had made Hermione a cautious, more paranoid person. Every shadow seemed to have eyes watching them, every breath of wind a ghost.

There was still that unsettled silence looming around and Hermione had no idea what to say. Fortunately for her, Ron started a conversation. One that didn't have to do with anything romantic.

"How far away are N.E.W.T's?"

N.E.W.T.S.

Perhaps the most dreaded word by all 7th years. It was indeed coming up and many of the teachers were preparing them for it.

"Ron! How can you not know when they are? They are probably the most important tests you'll ever take! They're in May and that's not too far away. Just 4 months Ron! 4 months!"

The slightest smile reached Ron's lips. Anybody who knew those two would've noticed nothing strange. Hermione was being her know-it-all self and Ron; well there really wasn't a word to describe him.

"So I suppose you've been studying then?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Hermione didn't seem to get the sarcasm. (A/N: Don't you hate when people do that?)

"Of course I have! I can't believe you haven't been studying! All those nights you had no homework, you could have been studying!" She shouted, causing a few 6th years to glance her way.

Ron laughed. "Don't worry. Of course I have been studying. What do you think I was doing while you were reciting the 15 uses of munkwood? Sleeping?" He quirked up an eyebrow.

"Well yes," She blushed. "You usually don't pay attention in class so I just assumed…"

"That's right miss. You just 'assumed'. Don't ever assume." Ron said in his most philosophical voice.

By now they had reached the portrait. The young couple waved out to them and Ron scowled.

"I don't like that portrait." The couple grew cross and began muttering curse words toward him. "It gives you the wrong idea."

Hermione had to laugh as she said the password. It swung open and Hermione said to him, "Oh yes Ron. Malfoy and me are just snogging senselessly when you're not here. You have found out my dark secret!"

Of course it was a sarcastic comment and Ron figured that out. He just laughed along with her. Then she stopped and said very seriously, "You know that I'm not doing anything with Malfoy. Never have, never will. How could I like a person like him?"

"I guess you're right. But if he touches a hair on your head I swear I'll hex him."

Hermione sighed. "Ron, you and Harry have been saying that all year. I am a big girl and I can take care of myself."

"Yeah. Sometimes I forget that our little Hermione has grown up." He preteneded to wipe a tear of his face.

"Yes Ron."

"Ok. I've got to go. Bye!"

With a roll of her eyes, Hermione said, "Bye."

She walked in and closed the portrait door behind her.

Maybe if she had remembered that sound can go through open spaces and that a certain Draco Malfoy was in there, listening very intently on their conversation, then maybe she would've been more careful what words she had chosen. Then again, maybe not.

&&&

Draco's eyes went as wide as gallons. He couldn't believe what she had said about him but he knew that wasn't true. That was the way she had felt about him for the past 6-½ years. How could he expect her to change that fast?

Of course, he had changed for her hadn't he?

He looked at a rose, sitting in a glass vase on the messy desk. The deep red stood out against the white papers and black ink. It was a simple thing, a rose. So beautiful and elegant, having thousands of meanings. The rose seemed to fit perfectly within the vase. And that was what it was.

_Perfection._

But even the slightest crack in the vase, or brown on a leaf could disrupt the entire aura of it. It just wouldn't be enchanting anymore.

And he knew what that crack in the vase or brown on the leaf was.

It was Ron Weasley. The man who stole Hermione from him.

Draco glanced up. There were faint footsteps in the distance. That meant one thing. Hermione was coming into the common room. If she found out he had heard her, Draco was sure she wouldn't be able to look at him again. He could never handle that.

So he did the first thing he could think of. He gently placed his head down upon his arms and closed his eyes. Draco was pretending to sleep.

He could he hear Hermione walk in. His ears strained to figure out what she was doing. The footsteps soon got louder until he was sure that she was standing right behind him. Her eyes were boring into the back of his head. The next thing he felt was a gentle shake on his shoulders. He grumbled a bit and his eyes fluttered open. She smiled at him.

"You've been working hard. Take a nice long rest and I'll finish the essay up. Then all we have to do is test it out."

He nodded numbly, as though he was asleep. With another smile toward him, Hermione sat down and began to look over his work, or rather lack of work.

Scratching the back of his head, Draco left to go up into his room. Now that he was pretending, he found out that he was indeed tired and was going to take Hermione's advice.

After trudging up the stairs, he fell into his bed, eyes closed. His deep slumber was interrupted a few hours later by the hooting of an owl.

-Author's Notes-

Ugh. Boring chapter. It was necessary; I needed to get Hermione and Ron to become friends again. So, next chapter will be up soon!

By the way. Just to clear something up, Hermione and Ron are **not** going out. They broke up during that fight and haven't gotten back together yet. Whether or not I make them get together again will be my descions...unless you want to tell me in your review what you want....

Dude...I got so many reviews for the last chapter! :) Woot woot!

Much thanks to:

**Cathan: **Wow! So many compliments! Thanks for reviewing!

**Elfagetti: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Draco Is So God Damn Sexy: **First off, I love your user name. It is so right. Yeah and I agree. I really hope they end up together but on her site, she says they're not going to. Darn... Anyways, Thanks for the review!

**Molly: **Thanks for the review!

**ballOrfaLLbuTgetoutofmyHOUSE!!!!: **Thanks for all those ideas. They're really gonna help!

**Kitty of Wonder:** Yeah, I have noticed how Ginny and Harry end up together. And yeah, it gets really annoying after a while. So, I'm definatly not going to have them end up together. Do you have any suggestions for other couples?


	10. Dealing with Stupidity

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

If I could fall, into the sky. Do you think time, would pass me by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a 1000 miles if I could just see you. If I could just hold you. Tonight.

_ -_____ A Thousand Miles; Vanessa Carlaton -

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead! –

_Hoot. Hoot._

A hand swatted at the owl. However, that owl had specific directions and kept on hooting. Draco had no choice but to wake up from his peaceful slumber.

The barn owl extended its leg and Draco gently took off the letter. It wasn't all that thick. Seeing that it was currently the middle of the night, his room was completely dark except for the moonlight streaming through his window. He picked up his wand and said, "Lumos." A bright light emitted from the top of his wand and he held it close to the paper.

_Meet me in the library tomorrow before dinner. Don't bring anybody with you. Please come. Write back your reply._

_ -H_

H? He recognized the handwriting. It was none other than Hermione Granger's own handwriting. Why would she want to meet him in the first place? Alone? Or possibly, she was going to have Harry and Ron there to fight with him. As much as he hated to admit it, Draco knew he couldn't take on both of them.

He grumbled as he tried to find a quill and a bottle of ink. After a few minutes, he found it and turned over the piece of parchment. He simply wrote _yes_ and attached it to her owl and it flew off. He was still too asleep to notice anything else. He didn't notice as the owl paused to look at him. He didn't notice that the window was still open. But mostly, he didn't notice the shadow of a phoenix that had hovered over him.

&&&

It was a little before dinner and Draco was in the library for his meeting with Hermione. Actually, it was a brilliant idea to have him meet her before dinner. That would mean that nobody was there in the library. Nobody would find out he was talking to her.

Hermione however, proved to be very hard to find. He wandered up and down the aisles, searching everywhere for her. Finally, after about ten minutes of looking, he found her in the farthest, most un-used corner in the library. He rolled his eyes. Typical Gryffindor. Never wanting to get in trouble.

He cleared his throat once. When she didn't notice, he cleared it again. This time, Hermione looked up and gave her a small smile. He took the seat across from her.

"What do you want now?"

Hermione looked as if she had expected this question. "I want to ask you how you feel about me."

Draco looked shocked. "What kind of stupid question is that? Why would you want to know?"  
  
She seemed to know he would as this question as well. "You're a confusing person, almost ferret-y in a way. One minute your calling me Hermione, the next you're storming off at me! I don't understand! I thought girls were only supposed to have mood swings!" She eyed him closely. "You are a boy aren't you?"

"Wha-?"

"I said," She rolled her eyes, "you are a boy right?"  
  
"Of course I am!"

"Good. Then you'll have no trouble answering my question." She had an air of superiority around her. That wasn't right. Malfoy's had that, not Granger's.

"I CAN'T!" He bellowed out at her. It was a good thing Madam Pince was at dinner or else he was sure they would have been kicked out.

"What do you mean you cant?"

He sighed and looked tiredly toward her. "Just leave me alone. Please, just – just let me be." He picked up his things and ran off to the qudditch pitch.

Hermione sat there, shocked at what had happened. Never did she expect that to happen. 

_'Oh well. Might as well study now that I'm in the library.'_

&&&

_'Stupid her. Stupid Granger. Stupid, stupid, stupid.'_

Every step Draco took, carried another 'stupid' something. Of all the things that she could've asked or even said, she had to ask about feeling. Something that Draco couldn't understand.

To him, emotions were illogical. Well, that was what his father had taught him. He masked away all his feelings because according to Lucius, they were weaknesses. And a part of him still believed that. Why would any one want to go through someone else's pain? How could you choose to give up everything for one person?

'_Stupid feelings'_

He sat down underneath the tree overlooking the lake. It was here that all his problems and worries began. For this was the spot that Draco began to fall in love with Hermione.

Here, he saw Ron put his arm around her shoulders. Where they tickled the giant squid's tentacles and laughed whenever one was splashed. Where they sat and watched the sun go down. Where they shared their first kiss.

Draco shuddered. Everyone in school had thought that those two made the perfect couple. He could hear Lavender and Parvati's voices in his head.

"Oh Hermione," He mimicked with a high pitched girly voice, "you and Ron make an absolutely fabulous couple!" He twirled a strand of his hair. "I wish I had a guy like him. You're so lucky!" He giggled.

"Malfoy?"

Draco spun around. His face flushed when he saw who it was but he hid it.

Stupid him.

-Author's Notes-

I particularly liked this chapter. Definatly one of the easier ones to write. I hoped you liked it as well!

It's Memorial Day Weekend so I'm pretty sure I can get another chapter up by Monday.

Much thanks to:

CCBChunks: Thanks for the review! Yeah, I hate it when they make Ron the "Bad Guy." I'll try not to do that here though!

HorseMaster1: Uh uh. You got it all wrong! You can have Draco but Tom's MINE! Haha, just kidding! We can share him! Thanks for the review!

KittyOfWonder: Definatly thanks to you for all the ideas! Yeah, I'll probably use one of them…You'll just have to wait and find out which one!

CassandraTheEvil: Oh my. How can I express my thanks to you? You are such a devoted reviewer! Best wishes and THANKS A BUNCH! MWAH!

Jomai: Thanks for reviewing! I'm really glad that I cleared that up for you!

Elfagetti: Yes I know, Harry and Ginny! Ugh…so many stories have them I think I'm going to be sick! Yeah, it's every girl's fantasy to watch Draco sleep. Well, thanks for reviewing!


	11. Dates and Mates

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_The only stupid question is a question unasked _

_-Author Unknown-_

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!

Harry Potter was trying hard not to laugh. His face was red and an enormous grin was plastered onto his face.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Laugh Potter. You look ridiculous."

The boy-who-lived burst out in laughter, gasping for breaths of air. Draco could hear him saying things such as 'black mail' or 'wait till Ron hears about this!' He scowled. He didn't mean to let anybody see him. Actually, at the time he thought it was quite funny as well and started to laugh too. He quickly stopped when he realized what he was doing and Harry did too.

Putting on his best I-don't-care-what-you-have-to-say look, he said, "What do you want Potter? I have more important things to be doing."

"More important than Hermione?" Harry quirked up an eyebrow.

Draco froze. What was going on?

"I have no idea what you are talking about. Why would I care about a little mud-mu-" He couldn't say it. The word wouldn't form and the sound wouldn't be made. Now he knew there was something wrong.

"What is it Malfoy? Spit it out!"

"Why would I care about a little muggleborn?" There. That had fixed it. Surely Harry wouldn't notice, would he?

"Muggleborn. Right. I'm going to believe that." Harry took a seat next to Draco. "Honestly, tell me the truth."

"Hah. Why would I trust you?"

"Because I can help you get the girl you want."

"And who, pray tell, would that be?" His voice had a hint of panic in it.

"We both know who that is. Look, she's my best friend and I just want what's best for her. After that fiasco with Ron, you seem like the perfect guy for her." Harry's eyes held a look of knowing in them. Maybe all that time with Dumbledore had paid off for him.

"What the hell are you saying? What's with me being the 'perfect guy'?" Draco quirked up an eyebrow.

"Figure it out. I thought ferrets were supposed to be clever. Just do something for me, or rather her and ask her to Hogsmede for Valentine's Day. It's tomorrow"

Draco mentally kicked himself. He had forgotten completely.

In a voice that you would use to bribe a 3 year old, Harry said, "Hermione would be really happy."

This decided it for Draco. "Fine. Keep your shirt on, for all our sakes!"

Harry put on _his_ high girly voice and said, "Oh my! I can't wait to tell Hermione!" He giggled. "You and her make such a perfect couple!" Another giggle.

Draco squinted, his eyes straight on Harry. He broke off a branch of the tree and began to chase Harry with it all the way up to the castle.

&&&

Draco walked wearily back to his common room. His talk with Harry had made him a little paranoid. If Harry knew, how many other people could know?

As he entered the room, he spotted Hermione curled up on the couch with a large and heavy book on her lap. _'Figures. What a bookworm.'_

Without saying a word, Draco took a seat next to her and she glanced up from her book. She shrugged her shoulders and started to read again. He let out a long sigh. This would be harder than he thought.

"Um…hi?" He asked uneasily.

Hermione snorted but gracefully turned it into a cough. Again she glanced up from her book but kept her gaze.

"So, well-um-tomorrow's Valentine's Day, Hogsmede trip as well."

"I'm aware of that Malfoy."

He blushed. "Yes, well, are you going with anyone?" His became even more red.

"No," Her gaze never left his face, "Why, are you asking?"

His head now resembled that of a polar bear with a terrible sunburn, if that was possible. "Well yes, that's what I'm asking."

"So, I suppose I'll meet you in the front gates tomorrow morning, 8:00?"

His heart rose. This was like a dream come true. He nodded his head. "8:00 it is then."

"Alright then," Hermione was heading toward her room. "Good night…Draco"

&&&

He rested his eyes and smiled. It was a great day. After all, wouldn't you be happy if you had a date with the love of your life?

"DRAKIE!"

His eyes shot open. There, standing in the middle of the common room was Pansy Parkinson. She apparently, had some great news that couldn't wait until later.

Then he remembered that Pansy was probably expecting him to ask her to Hogsmede tomorrow. She figured since he didn't ask her yet, she might as well ask him. Draco groaned. How was he going to explain to her that he already had a date?

He wanted to laugh. So now going with Hermione to Hogsmede was a date? Go figure.

They both began to speak at the same time but Pansy's voice drowned out Draco's.

"Listen. I have some news that I just couldn't wait to tell you! For Valentine's Day, I already have a date. Try to understand Draco, that a girl like me needs some space and lately," She sighed, "you've been just a bit too clingy. So, even though this must break your heart, please try to bear with me."

Draco wanted to laugh but played along. "Pansy…you're-you're-"

"Yes Draco, I'm afraid we're breaking up. I think this is the one."

He stood up and began to pace around the room. "No, no, no. This can't be happening."

Pansy gave him a reassuring smile that did just the opposite, it made him want to laugh. "I think I'll go now. You need some time to heal."

Once she left, Draco burst out laughing. Never, in his life had he seen something so funny and so false. His chortles must have woken up Hermione because soon, she came out of her dorm with a confused look on her face. Draco looked up at her and explode in laughter again. Baffled, Hermione snuck back into her room and closed the door.

&&&

Draco laughed until the rays of sunlight hit him through a small window. It was then that he realized that he needed to start getting ready for his date with Hermione. He rushed into the bathroom but was met with a loud shriek. In the bath tub was a very naked Hermione, her eyes opened in horror. Draco spun around, his face was red again.

He mumbled an apology before dashing out of the bathroom.

Sitting down his on his bed, he couldn't help but reminisce about what he just say. He'd be lying if he said he didn't see a thing. Grinning, he began to make his bed.

A few minutes later, a dressed Hermione came into his room. Her eyes were staring daggers into his. "You'd better not talk about what you did or saw if you want to be able to see anymore." She walked into the bathroom again.  
  
He knew well enough to take her seriously and vowed never to speak about it again.

Listening for any noise, Draco knocked on the bathroom door. He didn't hear any noise so he walked in, calmly looking around for any signs of Hermione and to his delight, he found none. He looked into the mirror.

It was going to be a long morning.

-Author's Note-

See, I'm updating by Monday! This was a little longer chapter then usual. Hope you enjoyed it!

Oh my goodness…I got 17 reviews in 2 days. 17!! Wow. You all rock!

My thanks to:

**KittyOfWonder**: No. You are deadly wrong. Tom isn't butt ugly. Anyways, I'm sorry that the chapter was a little shorter then usual but I made this one a bit longer! Thanks for reviewing anyways!

**LaughingGirl**: Thanks for the idea but I have something else in mind for our young couple. Thanks for reviewing!

**CCBChunks**: Yeah. Maybe you could talk some sense into KittyOfWonder up there? Thanks for the review!

**Becky**: Yep. Definatly tried to make Ron a bit of a nicer guy, you know, still her best friend and all. Thanks for the review!

**Michelle**: Dude. My name's Michelle too! Anyways, thanks for telling me about my grammar. If you could tell me some mistakes, I'll go back and fix them. Thanks for reviewing!

**Stardrops**: Wow. My story is good enough to risk reading in secret!? .:Jumps up and down:. That's awesome! You said that this was much better than anything you've read and all I can say is wow… Thanks for the reviews! 3 of them!

**Fat-Louie**: Thanks for reviewing!

**Harry's Soooooo Hott!:** Haha. You know that scene up there between Draco and Harry and when he says, keep your shirt on? That was for you. Hope you liked!

**Regina-Terrae**: Thanks for the review!

**ShadowWhisper**: What's not fair? Thanks for reviewing though!

**HorseMaster1**: Are you serious?! That is so AWESOME! But…that means she wouldn't be able to date him or anything… Anyways. Thanks for the review!

**Some12**: Thanks for reviewing!

**CassandraTheEvil**: Ah. My faithful reviewer! I'm glad that the last chapter made you laugh. I was hoping it would! You're reading this at 2 AM? Wow…I'm usually just watchin TV or something. You still want to borrow my brain? Of course you can! But I'll need it back on Wednesday for my L.A. final and math final. Actually, I just need up to June 10th and then I'm as free as a bird! PLEASE PUT YOUR STORY BACK UP! IT WAS AMAZING!

So thanks to all my devoted reviewers. And thanks to anyone who put me on their author alert or favorites list! You guys are great!

I'm going to be starting a mailing list for anyone interested. If you are, simply leave your email address in your review and PRESTO you'll get an email when I first update so you don't have to go searching for it! Those of you who have left your email address in a previous review are on the list already so CONGRATS for thinking ahead!

-Michelle


	12. Valentine's Morning

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

___"__And from now on, I don't care if my tea leaves spell die, Ron, die — I'm just chucking them in the bin where they belong._

-Ron Weasley-  
Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 31, Page 718

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you.-

Draco hurriedly tried to make himself presentable for his date with Hermione in just a few hours. This was his one chance to make her fall in love with him or at least consider him as a friend.

Finally, he was done. He looked at himself one last time before heading to the Great Hall. Along the way, he could see couples walking together. One particular pair was Ginny and Dean. He wanted to laugh. He couldn't wait to see Ron's face.

Suddenly, he found himself staring into Hermione's eyes. For the first time in his life, Draco was at a loss for words. She gave him a warm smile and Draco relaxed just a bit.

Then he heard himself saying, "Are you ready to go?"

Hermione nodded shyly and they both went to the carriages. They found one for themselves and sat inside. Draco looked out the window, avoiding her eyes. It was a beautiful day out. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. He grinned. Hermione must've used the potion.

"Nice day, but you would know that already, wouldn't you?"

Hermione grinned. "Yeah, well, I thought everyone needed sometime off of those cloudy days we've been having."

By now, the horseless carriages had arrived at Hogsmede. The sight was amazing. Snowflakes were falling lightly on the village. What looked like pink doves were flying high above the shops. The town itself seemed to be emitting a soft gentle pink color. It was like nothing Draco had seen before.

They really went all out this year." Hermione pointed out. "Ugh. There's too much pink! C'mon, maybe the 3 broomsticks has some sense left!" She grabbed his hand rather forcefully, and dragged him to the very crowded 3 broomsticks.

Draco was dragged through a whole hoard of un-nameable faces. He was getting kicked, stepped on and sometimes whipped in the face by a girl's long hair. Hermione on the other hand, didn't seem to notice any of this. Like a mad woman, she frantically tried to find the bar. Within a couple of minutes, (they felt like years to him), she got there and ordered two butter beers.

"Stay here and wait for them while I go find us a table, ok?" Hermione shouted back as she abandoned him in the crowd. He stayed in line and waited for what seemed like an eternity before Tom the bartender handed him his drinks. He turned around to go back to the table but realized that he wouldn't be able to find it. Then, Hermione showed up with a wide grin on her face.

"You'll never believe who I just saw."

"Who?"

A girl and boy stepped out from behind Hermione. His jaw hit the floor. One was an old friend, somebody he had grown up with. The other was an old enemy, somebody he despised his entire life. So what were they doing together?

"Drakie! You did find a date for yourself after all!" Pansy threw her arms around his neck, only stopping when Ron cleared his throat. "Oh! And you know Ronnie over here."

"Ronnie?" Hermione spluttered.

"Um, yes. She heard Ginny call me that and it just stuck I guess." Ron said, his face burning red.

Draco laughed. "Alright _Ronnie. _Where are you two sitting?" His lips were forming into a smirk.

Ron's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, (rude most likely) but was stopped by another voice.

"They are sitting in that corner over there. So are we." Hermione stated.

Draco wanted to goggle at her for a few minutes, hoping that he wouldn't have to spend his date with _Hermione _with his two least favorite people in the world. Instead, he simply said, "Oh goodie."

For the second time that day, he was dragged away by Hermione. They found their table which had four seats around it. They took their seats when Draco realized that he forgot the butter beers back at the bar. He told Hermione and she let him go get them only if he promised to come back.

&&&

Ron looked at Hermione strangely before asking if he could talk to her alone. Pansy stubbornly said yes but only after making sure they stayed in sight. He pulled her into a oddly empty space and began to speak, the tips of his ears red.

"What are you doing here with Malfoy?" He hissed.

"He asked me to come, so here I am." She replied.

Ron scowled. "Yes, but of all people you had to go with him? Why didn't you go with Harry or somebody that I can trust?"

"What about Pansy?"

His face turned crimson. "That was different."

She put her hands on her hips, glaring daggers into him. "

She looked around. "Speaking of Harry, do you know where he is?"

"He said that he was going with somebody already…I don't know who though. He did tell me and you to meet him at Zonko's later."

"Both of us? Why didn't he tell me?"

Ron looked down at his shoes. "Well, he figured that we were going to be going together…" His voice trailed off.

Hermione suddenly understood. "Oh, then I guess he's going to be surprised later, right?" Hermione grinned. "I think we should get back. Pansy's looking a little jealous!"

The pair made their way back to the table, where Draco had returned. With him were 4 butterbeers and a very soaked robe. Hermione snorted. "What happened to you?"

Draco glowered. "I was coming back when this idiot ran into me. Stop laughing."

So they sat there, talking and laughing like they had been good friends for years which, in a sense, was partly true. Butterbeer was being gulped down and jokes were being made. It was at that moment, that all four of them were put under a spell.

As the four of them stood up and left, a figure emerged from the shadows. The eyes were peering out from beneath a black scarf wrapped around their face. As soon as they left, the person began to mutter in an ancient and lost language, completing the spell. Then a laugh came from within the scarf and the person slowly walked out of the bar, with nobody paying any attention what so ever to them.

-Author's Notes-

Whew. Another chapter. It's chapter 12. Wow.

Thanks to:

**Regina-Terrae**: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad it made you laugh.

**Adri: **Thanks for the review!

**Michelle: **Thanks for the review. Some how, I don't think my grammar was as good in this chapter.

**CassandraTheEvil: **Thanks for ALL the compliements and feedback. Appreciate it A LOT. By the way people, review her story! It's Where will you go? It's really good! Thanks for the review!

**KittyOfWonder: **My other faithful reviewer! Haha. Whatever you say, but I still think Tom's hot. Anyways, that was a lot of compliments! I don't think I could've stopped smiling when I read it! It would be cool if J.K. read some of these! Thanks for reviewing!

**Rea: **Haha. Thanks for the whole threatening thing! But it's ok, I have enough reviewers as it is! Congrats! You are now officially on my mailing list! Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

**Chelsea: **I think I said that Ron would be OOC in an earlier chapter.

**HPFreakout: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Stardrops: **Thanks for the review!

**CCBChunks: **Yeah, I know the bathroom scene was cliché but I needed to make the chapter longer. You know. Yes, Tom's hair makes him absolutely gorgeous. And I loved that part as well. Thanks for reviewing!

**Jbanana: **Haha. Yes I agree with you on the whole eye thing. Thanks for reviewing!

**Some12: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Horsemaster1: **Haha. Thanks for the review!

Yeah, is that everyone? Sheesh that's a lot of people.

By the way, if anybody has or is going to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, can you please send me a review of it? I highly doubt I'm going to see it any time soon. (My friends have had tickets for 3 months for opening night…sheesh!) And I want to know if it's good or not. A couple of my friends saw it at midnight and they said it was pretty god but it doesn't follow the book.

So review! I really need ideas!


	13. Valentine's Day

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_Why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me? _

_- Daniel Radcliffe; Harry Potter -_

_- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

The four of them were making there way to Zonko's to meet Harry and this mysterious girl he had been talking about. They got strange looks from many of the students but were quickly silenced by a glare made by Draco.

Zonko's hadn't changed much over the years but now they were selling Weasley products. Occasionally, you could see Fred and George in the store, mingling with the rest of the group. Today, the Weasley twins decided not to show up after all.

Hermione drifted away from the other three and looked at some of the newer joke products. They included Dragon Donuts that turn your skin a scaly green, colored water that will make your hair turn that color and various sorts of sweets that Hermione didn't dare try. She skimmed over heads until she spotted one that had messy black hair and walked toward him.

There he was. Harry was laughing next to a very pretty girl who she recognized to be a 6th year Hufflepuff. She had straight brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail. Her clear blue eyes sparkled with joy.

Hermione tapped Harry's shoulder and he spun around. He grinned and greeted her like he hadn't seen her in years. "Hermione! It's good to see you! Where's Ron?"

"Well, Ron's over there with his date." Hermione stated.

"Really now. And that would be?" Harry was obviously surprised.

"I don't want to ruin the surprise." Hermione all of a sudden felt odd and realized that Harry's date had no idea who she was. She smiled at her and said, "Hi, I'm Hermione."

The Hufflepuff smiled shyly at her and said, "I'm Jolie."

"It's nice to meet you." She glanced over at Harry who was pretending to be uninterested. "C'mon you two. I'm sure Ron would love to meet you."

She pulled them over to where Ron, Pansy and Draco were waiting. Draco looked bored out of his mind and Hermione couldn't blame him. Ron and Pansy were talking about who knows what. 

When Harry saw them, he kept his face calm but his eyes said otherwise. There was a large amount of surprise in them and confusion as he stared at Pansy and Ron, who were now holding hands. Draco suddenly yelled to them, "Hermione, Potter and his date are here so stop with the names!"

The pair turned around and stared at them before bursting out in laughter. When they finally calmed down, they smiled and introduced themselves to Jolie. Apparently, Jolie's parents (the Maltek's) were friends with Narcissa Malfoy. She offered their deepest sympathies to Draco.

Out of nowhere, Ron pulled out a lemon drop and offered it to Draco. On the other side of him, Pansy was trying very hard not to laugh. Draco looked at it and refused it, knowing the consequences. Ron looked defeated and pocketed the candy for later.

Finally, it was time to go and the three couples headed off in different directions. Hermione had no idea where Draco was taking her, just that strangely, she trusted him. She wondered about this as they walked to a very crowded area of Hogsmede. For the first time, she decided not to think things through and imagine every possible situation but to just enjoy her time in this small village.

&&&

Draco had other ideas in his mind than spending time with Hermione.

First, he desperately needed to get rid of her so he could go off and buy her a Valentine's gift. He had walked into the crowd, hoping to find somebody to take her off his hands for a few minutes while he slipped away. He was lucky enough to find the Patil twins and Lavender Brown, sitting in a small but cozy café.

They saw them coming and began to speak in excited voices. "Hermione! What a pleasure it is to see you! Have a cup of this late we're having. And I guess Draco can stay too."

"No, it's ok. I'll just go." Surprisingly, these words were coming from Hermione's mouth, not Draco's.

Draco turned to look at Hermione. "No, go ahead. Spend some time with your friends. Either way, I still need to get a few things."

"Alright." She smiled.

He watched her go sit with her friends and he waved good-bye to her. Now the only problem was what type of gift he should get her. It needed to be one that she liked, not too much for her to know that he loved her but enough so that she might fall in love with him. Then the answer came to him.

A book.

Walking out of the crowd, he tried to find a bookstore. He spotted one and went in. It was called Flunder, after the owner's name. The store was small and went unnoticed most of the time but it still contained a treasure trove of fascinating books. One of them had to be perfect for Hermione.

As he walked in, he felt a warm feeling sweep over him and he suddenly forgot that it was the middle of February. It wasn't crowded at all, and Draco could easily have picked up a book, sat on the floor and begin to read. However, this wasn't any Hogsmede trip and he needed to keep his concentration.   
  
He skimmed the shelves. A few books caught his attention but he quickly disregarded them after reading a summery. After a few minutes of searching, Draco found the perfect book for her. Two books actually.

One was the very first copy of Hogwarts: A History, with the author's signature and foreword. It was very rare and had a price tag to match it. The book was in a glass case, protected by an unbreakable spell. It was very old but in good condition. Hermione would love it.

The second was a book on wandless magic and how to control it. Called No Wands Attached, the author ensured the reader that by the end of the book, the reader would be able to perform simple spells without a wand.

Draco took the book of the shelf and faced the glass case. He was going to lift it off until a voice rang through the air.

"What are you doing young man?"

He spun around. In front of him was probably the storeowner herself. She was very short and had short red hair and a thick Irish accent.

"I just wanted to buy this book."

She smiled sweetly at him. "I'm afraid this book costs just a wee bit more then you have."

He narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps you don't realize who I am. My name is Draco _Malfoy._"

Her face turned red. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy, I'm sorry. Of course you can buy this." She flicked her wand and the glass lifted up. She took out the book. "It will be 100 galleons. Will you be buying anything else?"  
  
He nodded. "Yes, this book here. Please just place it on my tab."

"Of course sir."

He could finally walk out of the store, feeling happy and content.

&&&

Hermione saw a bright patch of blonde hair and waved to it. It was Draco, making his way back from where ever he had gone to. In his hands was a package, although what was in it was a mystery to Hermione.

She had a package as well. It was a book she had picked out earlier in the day on Quidditch. In the book, there was something else, something she made herself. She planned to give it to him as a gift. Hopefully, he would like it.

The other three girls had realized who was coming back and quietly excused themselves from the table, giggling the entire way. Hermione just rolled her eyes and waited anxiously for Draco to come.

He finally fought his way through the crowd and came over. He gave her a small smile and handed her the package. She also gave him his gift. Hermione looked at it. The wrapping was very plain. It was a deep red with a simple ribbon tying the whole thing together.

Before they knew it, it was time to leave and the two of them headed to the carriages. Hermione took a seat opposite of Draco. The ride was silent but neither of them noticed it. Together, they made their way up to their room but stopped at the stairs. Hermione looked at Draco awkwardly before giving him a peck on the cheek and running up to her room.

&&&

Draco smiled. Everything was right. He too, was headed up to his dorm with Hermione's present in his hand. The wrapping was black with stars magicked to flicker on and off. He couldn't wait to open it.

As soon as he reached his bed, he tore off the wrapping. Out fell a heavy book called Got Quidditch? He flicked through the book and a letter fell out. Strange. Letters didn't normally come hidden in books. He slowly opened it and smirked when he recognized the handwriting.

_Draco-_

_By the time you get this, you'll most likely be in your room. I just wanted to wish a very happy Valentine's Day! I hope I didn't mess up today. _

_Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that Professor Dumbledore has invited you to train for the war against the dark side. I think I put the letter in here as well. I'm sorry that I didn't give it to you earlier, I just didn't know when to give it to you._

_I'm writing this before we go and I hoped that we had fun today. If we didn't, I'll make it up to you, somehow._

_- Hermione_

He laughed. Hermione could be such a dork at times. He stood up and went to go put the letter on his dresser but accidentally jammed his toe. He hopped up and down, trying to make the pain stop.

Little did he know that in Hogwarts, three other people felt the same pain he felt.

-Author's Note-

Lately, people have been pestering me to make the chapters longer. Well, this chapter was about a page longer then the rest! The rest of the chapters will get gradually longer, unless I can manage to make a really long chapter!

I saw PoA on Saturday and I personally liked it better than the first two. Although it was darker, it was still good. However, I hated the fact that they didn't explain who Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail were or what that stag meant. And Lupin's moustache…ERG!

So thanks to you guys for reviewing!:

**Laura: **Well, we're getting there. Thanks for reviewing!

**CassandraTheEvil: **I love it! Very nice and l o n g review! Yes, I'm definatly a Snape fan. The movie was awesome, (See up there!) But the moustache…erg. Thanks for reviewing!

**KittyOfWonder:** I'm sorry. Did you ever get to see it though? Yeah, I know. Pansy and Ron is going to fail BUT think about it. Pansy wants to give the guy of her dreams all the attention and Ron wants it. What a more perfect couple? Glad I made your day! Thanks for reviewing!

**Koala-Burr:** It's ok. I get lazy a lot too. Thanks for reviewing!

**Emily and Jessica: **Thanks for reviewing a lot of the chapters! J And it's definatly not Voldie. (Tom is **mine.** Back Off! {J.K.}) Thanks for reviewing!

**Fictiongurl:** Thanks for reviewing!****

**CCBChunks: **Actually, the movie wasn't that far off from the book, just things were taken out and Harry doesn't get the firebolt till the end. That's all. Thanks for reviewing!

**HorseMaster1: **I liked the Aunt Marge part too. Thanks for reviewing!

**Stardrops: **I don't know… maybe. Thanks for reviewing!

**Some12: **Have fun in Alaska! Thanks for reviewing!

**RonsFavGal247: **Thanks for reviewing!****

**Jbanana: **Well, I think that he can act much better in this movie than the last two. At least, better than I can. Thanks for reviewing!

**Michelle: **I agree with your entire review. Espicially Tom. Yes. Thanks for reviewing!

C'mon! You know you want to review!


	14. Encounters and Surprises

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_The spiders… they want me to tap dance! _

_- Rupert Grint; Ronald Weasley -_

_- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

Hermione had set her gift aside, too nervous to open it. She glanced at her bed that seemed to be calling her name. As she laid down on the soft mattress, her eyes began to close and soon she was in a peaceful slumber.

That is until she felt an all too familiar pain on her foot. It felt as though she had hit her toe on something hard, but that was impossible. There was nothing hard near her and her foot was laying peacefully on the mattress. There was something wrong.

She couldn't keep her thoughts because the pain never ceased. She tried to make it stop but nothing worked. In the end, she could only hold back the tears as her foot's pain became better.

She sighed. There was no use of trying to sleep again. Her head turned to look at the unwrapped gift on her dresser. Was it safe to open it? Somehow, she didn't seem to worry about it and grabbed the present. She untied the ribbon and pulled back the wrapper to reveal two books. One was a book on wandless magic, one that she was sure Dumbledore could use. She moved that book aside and glanced at the book. There, before her eyes, was the first edition of Hogwarts: A History. She ran her fingers over the leather spine before cracking it open. The sweet smell of an old book filled her room and she began to read. She would have to remember to thank Draco later.

&&&

Draco woke up the next morning, feeling a little more cheerful than usual. Yesterday was brilliant. If Hermione could tolerate him for one day, couldn't she do it forever?

He walked over to his dresser, taking a few things to the bathroom. He noticed Hermione's letter with another envelope hidden underneath. Confused, Draco picked it and opened it.

_Mr. Malfoy,_

_As we are heading into the second war, I fear for your safety. _(Draco recognized the handwriting. It was Dumbledore.) _You are one of the main targets for Death Eaters and Voldermort himself the moment you refused to become one. To help you, classes taught by Professors McGonnagal and Snape will be helping you defend yourself. The first meeting will be on February 15th, after dinner in the Transfiguration room._

_-Headmaster_

_Dumbledore_

So, that was what Hermione was talking about. It was true that he had turned down being a death eater. In the end, he decided to go see what this was all about and figure out who was invited. Naturally, the golden trio would be called but as to anyone else, he had no clue.

He had the rest of the day before the meeting and he was bored beyond belief. So, he decided to spend his time in the library. There was nothing like cracking open an old book to decipher its secrets. Perhaps he would even see Hermione there.

Thinking about Hermione brought back memories from the night before. Everything was a blur to him. One minute he was on his way to Hogsmede and the next, Hermione was giving him a kiss and running away. It wasn't _really _a kiss though. It was just a peck on the cheek. That didn't change his thoughts. Draco believed Hermione was falling for him, just like he fell for her.

Grinning, Draco made his way to the library. It was going smoothly until he got to the stairs. Standing in front of him was a 7th year boy with spiked brown hair and empty hazel eyes. It was Blaise Zambini.

"Move out of the way Zambini."

The boy took a dangerous step closer and smirked. "I don't think I will.

"Yes, you will. I'm not in the mood. I won't regret it if I curse you." Draco pulled out his wand.

"No need to get violent. I just want to talk about your new mudblood friend."

Draco glared. "Shut up Zambini and move."

Blaise laughed. It was cold and short. "I see I've touched a nerve. I expected more from you, being a Malfoy and all. Don't you know how lucky you are? Any kid would die to be a Malfoy! But you go off and disgrace yourself by being with a mudblood. Not just any mudblood, a Gryffindor, know-it-all, Potter's friend, mudblo-" He never managed to get the entire word out because Draco pointed his wand at Blaise's throat.

"Finish that word and I'll curse you."

Blaise stared at him with his cold eyes. "Mud. Blood."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Draco yelled out, "_Sufficotus!_" and Blaise began trying to take deep gasps of air. No oxygen came in though. His face began to change colors, first from red then to blue then to purple. He began to clutch his throat and his eyes were starting to look distant. That is until Draco muttered the counter curse, "Revolos Oxocondus." Blaise took a shuddering gasp and looked at Draco.

"You'll be sorry you ever did this Malfoy," Draco snorted. "The Dark Lord will rise again and I'll make sure you are the first to go. I'd do it now but my master says to keep an eye on you." Blaise stared at him and stated, "No matter where you are or what you're doing, remember that someone will always be watching."

&&&

Something Blaise had said, triggered something in Draco's memory. He was searching the shelves for a book that he couldn't remember the name of. All he knew, was that it was important. Every once in a while, he would glance nervously around but he saw nobody. Not a single soul was in the library.

_Strange._

He ignored it and continued to look for the book. What was it called? All he could remember about it was that he found it when searching for a potion, hence why he was in the potion's section. But what was it? He reached into his pocket, fumbling around for his wand when he felt something different. He pulled it out. It was a piece of parchment.

Draco opened it. The paper had neat writing on it, and it didn't have a wrinkle or tear in it at all. Something wasn't right. A minute ago, Draco saw the paper crumpled up in a ball. There was no way it could've done that. He decided to test out his theory. He picked up the paper and tore it in half. In the moment he blinked, the parchment went back together to form one perfect piece.

_Odd._

Then, he set it on fire. He watched as the paper burned in the flames and he could see it turn black. The flames grew larger and larger until they threatened to set his hair on fire. Finally, he stopped to inspect what happened but the parchment was still the same, with no burn marks on it.

_Weird._

Draco gave up. He had just realized that he hadn't even read what was on the parchment yet. He smoothed it out, (which wasn't necessary, it was just a habit) and grimaced when he realized what it was.

It was a page from the book he had been looking for all along. It was a page that held a secret, a terrible secret that Draco needed to share with the world to keep it safe.

On the top of the page, the words _Potion of Fate _was written. It was a potion unlike any other. It could make the drinker immortal. That was what Voldermort was after. _Immortality._

He reread it again and again and decided to research the potion. Voldermort already had a fang of a basilisk. The only other known ingredients were the horn of a golden unicorn, and the feather of an angel bird.

Draco knew about golden unicorns. They were very rare. Most of the time, unicorns were white and silver. Sometimes however, a unicorn will grow up but instead of it turning silver, it will turn gold. A golden unicorn is said to be the king of all. It's horn possesses a large quantity of magic, some not even wizards knew about.

He also knew about angel birds. They were also incredibly rare. Only one had been spotted in the past millennium and still, people were skeptical. Angel birds were completely white, with long, silky feathers. They can soar high above the clouds. One feather is said to contain enough magic to destroy a small city, but it takes a very powerful wizard to unlock its potential, or even obtain such a thing.

But Voldermort _was_ a powerful wizard.

He feared for the innocent lives of people if Voldermort ever made this potion. He feared for the destruction of the world he knew. But thing he feared the most wasn't what Voldermort was going to do to him. No, Draco feared for Hermione's life and her safety. And that was another reason why he had to go to Dumbledore's class.

&&&

Draco walked into the classroom where his lesson was going to take place. Only one person was there and it was someone Draco didn't expect to see. Draco's sharp eyes could see the body of Neville shaking in the corner. He smirked.

"Get up Longbottom. I'm not going to hex you."

At that moment, the door flew open and the golden trio came in, talking and laughing. Draco rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long night. The door opened again and this time Dean came in the room, looking very confused. Everyone else was also confused too but let it go.

Over a period of time, three people came in. They included Ginny, Luna and Jolie. All three were laughing together as well. In a few moments after that, McGonnagall and Snape came in. Snape's eyes were darting back and forth, observing them.

"You have been invited to join this class because Dumbledore fears that you will be some of the biggest targets for death eaters. I-"

She was interrupted by someone raising their hand. Surprisingly, it wasn't Hermione. It was Dean.

"Professor, I can understand why everyone else is here but why am I here?"  
  
McGonngall gave him a sorry look. Her eyes softened and her voice quieted down. Snape looked away, pity written on his face.

"My dear, you don't know do you?"

Dean looked very confused. "Know what?"

"Where is your father, Mr. Thomas?"

"Well, I haven't heard from him in ages actually. He's in France, working for the Ministry. Why?"

McGonnagall put her hand on his shoulder and almost whispered, "Dean, your father is gone."

He didn't understand. "Yes, I know. In France."

"No Dean. He was killed by death eaters."

Dean's eyes became very distant and all the color drained from his face. He managed to choke out the words, "For how long?"

Snape answered this one. "For almost three years now."

Draco looked over to the rest of the group that had fell silent. Every face held the same emotion. Confusion.

Dean took a moment to compose himself before saying brightly, "C'mon. Let's get started."

Snape was the first to recover. (No surprise there.) "Alright. This class is like an extra Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. You will learn spells, curses and hexes and how to protect yourselves. You will also learn strategy."

"How about we start out with some easy ones to test your knowledge." It was McGonnagall.

So, they began firing disarming spells, stunning spells, summoning spells, reductor spells until the two Professors finally gave them a break. They were only 15 minutes into the lesson.

They sat down and had a drink of water. Draco took a long drink and wiped his mouth when suddenly-

AHHH!

Ron had jumped backward and landed on Hermione was yelling at him. Draco felt a pain in stomach but had no idea how it happened. Perhaps it hurt because he was laughing so hard. Apparently, Ron saw a spider and jumped. Now the two of them were yelling at each other, trying to make the other apologize. At first it was funny but then it just got plain annoying. And the worse part was that the Professors seemed to be enjoying it. Draco sighed.

It was going to be a _really _long night.

-Author's Notes-

HOLY COW! I HAVE MORE THAN 100 REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!

So, next time I update, expect a super, gigantous, really long, chapter! Sorry I didn't do it this time, but I felt I have kept you waiting for far too long. Besides, next chapter is the 15! THE 15!! WHOA!

This chapter is dedicated to the following reviewers who have been with me for a long time:

CCBChunks, CassandraTheEvil, Stardrops, Jbanana, Horsemaster1, KittyOfWonder, Elfaghetti, Emily and Jessica.

SCHOOL'S OUT! Which is good news for you guys because the chapters will be written faster!

Thanks:

**Totally A Blue Hermione**: Ok, I'll watch out for it. Thanks for the review!

**CCBChunks**: No, he wouldn't. That's why I put, 'Put it on my tab.' Sugarquill.net…I'll try it. Just for you! Thanks for reviewing!

**WeluvweKR**: Um…ideas for your story. Well, it'd probably help if I read it first right? So, I'll be sure to do that. Thanks for the review!

**Stardrops**: I hope you liked the movie! Happy Sweet Sixteen! I still have a couple more years to go…hehe. Thanks for the review!

**Jbanana**: Yeah, I definatly agree with you. Thanks for the reivew!

**CassandraTheEvil**: Hah. Your chapters are long enough as it is! Sevvy…whoooo. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

**Regina-Terrae**: Thanks for the review!

**Draco-And-Jack-Lover**: Yes, I definatly agree with you on the movie! Muchos Gracias for the review!

**Potts**: I did! Thanks for reviewing!

**Horsemaster1**: I agree with you as well! Thanks for the review!

**Crickchick321**: Eh. You're right. I'll be sure to do that in the later chapters. For now, just let them be. Thanks for the review!

**Laughing Girl**: Muchos Gracias!

**KittyOfWonder**: I'm glad it made you smile. Your review made me smile. Thanks for the review.

**Emily and Jessica**: Wow. That's the only word I can think of for your idea. Are you serious?! That's sweet! Thanks for the review! And I am definatly going to end up with Tom…hah. Yeah right.

**Elfaghetti**: Thanks for reviewing!

Thank you guys so much!


	15. Discovery

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_Remus – Remus, your heart, it belongs here, stay with me Remus.___

_- Gary Oldman; Sirius Black -_

_- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! (So important, it needs to be read first!): In the last chapter, I put that the paper had Potion of Fate written at the top. That is not correct! It is supposed to be The Final Potion! I've changed it as well. Sorry for the confusion!**

The minutes ticked away quickly for Hermione. Everyone was hard at work, learning new spells and curses to protect and defend themselves. Everyone, Hermione noticed, but the infamous Draco Malfoy. He was casually leaning against the wall, occasionally stunning a fly as it zoomed by. In other words, he was bored beyond belief.

Tonight, the professors had decided to teach them some basic things like the disarming spell, stunning spells and reductor spells, all of which they had learned in DA back in fifth year. They didn't continue it last year because their DADA was such a good class, they didn't need extra practice. This year's professor was Kingsley Shacklebolt, and he was doing a terrific job.

So now, seeing that everyone had mastered the basics, they had moved onto Patronuses. Of course Harry and herself had produced one, so they were helping the others. Ginny got it in a few minutes as well and was helping Luna and Neville. Draco too had gotten it, his was a shape of a ferret. As Snape and McGonnagall tried to help everyone else, (particularly Neville and Dean), he sat back and watched.

In the beginning of the lesson, both professors produced their own Patronuses. McGonnagall's was a falcon and Snape's was a coyote. They would fly and prowl around the room as the professors explained the theory behind them and how to produce one. Hermione didn't pay attention, well not as much attention as she normally would. She knew all this already.

Now, she was watching as her otter paced around the room and saw it head toward Draco. Hermione decided to use this as an excuse to get away from Dean, saying that she wanted to observe her Patronus. She slipped away and walked over to Draco. He didn't see her come nearer to him, not even when she was a foot away. Hermione smiled and whispered, "Boo," in his ear. He jumped about a foot off the floor and she began to laugh.

"I didn't know Malfoy's were scared so easily." She remarked.

"We aren't. You didn't scare me, I simply wanted to get away from that disgusting floor for a few seconds, that's all." He said in a very calm voice. If she didn't know any better, she would've believed him.

"Sure."

Harry had seen the whole thing and laughed nervously. He had recently noticed that those two spent a lot of time together. They even went to Hogsmede together! Not only that, but there was a rumor that Hermione had kissed him but Harry didn't believe that one. The Hermione he knew wouldn't let the likes of Malfoy come close to her.

But was going on now? There they were, teasing each other like they were _friends. _Now Harry really had to laugh. Hermione and Draco friends? They had been enemies since first year. They wouldn't change in just a few days. Or could they? Sure, and Dudley would become a super model.

So, Hermione and Draco talked like good friends do. 'Good friends' being Hermione's term for their relationship. Truthfully, she had now idea what they were. After all, these last few weeks had been confusing, even for Hermione.

Pretty soon, the class was over. Most of the people were able to produce a Patronus except for Ron. He did manage to make some silver mist come out of his wand but other than that, he couldn't create one. McGonnagall and Snape told him to practice for next time. He groaned and Draco laughed. It was good knowing that he was better than Ron.

&&&

It was Monday, which meant a double class of Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins. At least it wasn't, as Ron says, a double class of bloody potions with the Slytherin gits. They had something to look forward to today though. Professor Shacklebolt had told them to expect a very interesting lesson.

Hermione headed down the Great Hall for some breakfast and found Ron stuffing his face and Harry laughing at him. She rolled her eyes. Those two would never change. Not that she wanted them to. They were her best friends.

"Ron, it's not like we're going to run out of food you know!" Harry laughed. "Honestly! Hermione's elves are going to be working mad because of all the food they have to make for you!"

Hermione sat down in front of them and helped herself to some toast. Ron looked at her in disbelief. "That's _all_ you are going to eat!?"

"Yes Ron. I, unlike you, have a capacity in my stomach."

"Besides," Harry interrupted, "class starts in a few minutes. We'd better get going."

The trio headed to class, where they met a large crowd. It dispersed when Shacklebolt came through, a small smile on his face. He opened the door and allowed the class to wander in, shocked at what he had done to the classroom.

What was normally a bland room, was now filled with dark detectors. Corners that used to have spider webs and such were now filled with foe glasses. The sound was unbearable. About 20 sneakoscopes were howling. There were other strange contraptions in the center of the room, apparently the main focus of their lesson.

The class crowded around the contraptions, whispering excitedly to each other.

Shacklebolt cleared his throat and the room fell silent. Except for those sneakoscopes. He waved his wand and they fell silent. "Class, today we will begin our study on dark objects. In front of you are two very common but lethal things. Can anyone tell me what this one is?" He pointed to a small, rounded bottle. Inside was a clear liquid and it went almost unnoticed. Next to it was what seemed to be a pump.

Hermione raised her hand. "That is an Elchanter. The liquid inside of it can be used to enchant people into doing something. However, you need to make sure you use the correct amount or they could end up going mad and destroy you too."

"Correct. 5 points to Gryffindor. Yes this is an Elchanter, and you'll be surprised to know how many people actually have one. A while back, these were not illegal and many people owned one. They used them to make bargains, favors or deals. However, an Elchanter in the wrong hands could end in a disaster. The wizarding world found that one out just a couple years ago. When you were one or two. Now, who can tell me what this contraption is?" The next item was much different than the Elchanter. It was made out of what seemed like steel and it was long and flat.

This time Draco raised his hand. "It's a Jantex. A Jantex looks like a sheet of metal but it is as flexible as rubber. People used them as whips. An extra bonus allowed the person to add a potion inside that would be released when it meet someone's skin. It came in many different sizes so they were hard to keep track of."

"Excellent. Take 5 points to Slytherin. Jantexes have always been banned from usage. However, because of the simplicity of it, many people could make one instead of risking the chance of buying an already made one. They were mostly used to torture muggles. Now, I wasn't sure if we would have enough time for this but because we have two very bright students, I might as well show you this one. Who can guess what it is?"

He had went to his desk and pulled out what seemed to be a rock. Only, it was too perfect to be considered a natural rock. It was black and was glossy. It was shaped into a rough triangle. From far away, it looked like it was a piece of obsidian.

Shacklebolt smiled. "Anybody at all?"

No one raised their hands. All the Gryffindors looked at Hermione while all the Slytherins looked at Draco. When neither of them answered, Shacklebolt told them. "This, class, is perhaps one of the most deadly weapons ever discovered. This is Hell's Ice. It is not man made, but can be found deep within an active volcano when it is erupting. There is only one in there and it was very hard to get. If you do ever get your hands on it, you would be feared by all. This rock is indestructible and is sharp enough to slice through diamonds, the second hardest substance known to wizards. If you knock on it, you can see that it is hollow. It is said to hold enough energy within it to destroy the world.

"No one has ever gotten one until very recently when a muggle daredevil went into lava. He came out full of burns but found this rock. He threw it away, where a wizard by the name of Griffin Working found it. He immediately turned it into the Ministry of Magic and they gave the rock to the Unspeakables. This rock I have is not true Hell's Ice but a very close replica."

"This brings me to your assignment for today. You will be split into pairs and will research one of the three items you see in front of you. The more information you have, the more points you will earn. This assignment is worth very little in your grade but do a good job on it, and you can bring your grade up. Now, you and your partner will write out an essay, detailing any interesting or important information on this. Some things to look for are uses, discoveries, ban dates and so on. You will have the entire lesson to work on it today but this is all the time I will be giving you in class. I expect this essay to be in class this Friday. Now, find a partner. If you can't find one, come here and I'll find you one."

In a matter of seconds, chaos ensued as students frantically searched for a partner. Predictably, Harry and Ron became partners so Hermione had to run all over class to find one. Frustrated, she made her way over to Shacklebolt where he had just made Neville and Pansy partners.

"How about some inter-house unity? Neville, why don't you work with Pansy? Now we'll need to find you a partner Draco!" Hermione walked over. "Wonderful. You and Miss Granger can be partners. You best get started. Oh, before you go, a word with you Hermione?" She nodded and watched Draco walk away. Confused, she looked at her professor.

He lowered his voice so much that Hermione had to strain to listen to hear what he was saying. "The Order has had some interesting information about Death Eater attacks. Keep an eye on Harry and make sure he doesn't wander off." She nodded, showing that she understood when really, she was confused. What were the Death Eater's plans?

She walked back to Draco who had already gotten plenty of books. At the sight of them, Hermione wanted to pick one up and read it but refrained herself from doing it. Instead, she asked Draco, "What do you want to do our essay on?"

Draco turned the book he was reading around and she saw a picture of the same rock that was in the center of the room. It was going to be the toughest one to do but neither of them minded. For the rest of class, the pair worked silently together. Hermione noticed that Draco would send her strange glances, like he wanted to tell her something. She would look again and see that he was just reading and she was sure it was just her imagination.

It wasn't until sunset that she knew she wasn't imagining things.

&&&

They were both in the common room, one on one side, the other on the other side. They were avoiding each other but they didn't know why. These were confusing times.

Draco was fighting with himself. He really should tell somebody about that paper, of course, he would never go to Dumbledore. So, should he perhaps tell Hermione? Would she just laugh at him and think of him as a liar? On the other hand, she could believe him and they could figure out a way to stop Voldermort.

Hermione was trying to figure out things too. What did Kinglsey mean when he was talking about death eaters? Did it mean they were going to attack? But where? Surely they weren't stupid enough to attack Hogwarts, would they? After all, within were aurors, Order members and of course, Dumbledore. The castle itself had protection up all around it. There was no way they could get in.

Yet, Hogwarts was very old. If the charms around the school weren't put on again, maybe certain areas were weaker then others. Voldermort would've figured that out and used it to his advantage. Did Dumbledore know? That man knew everything that was going on, but maybe this one slipped his mind. Maybe he even wanted them to come. She remembered back to her first year where they were sure that Dumbledore wanted to give Harry a chance to fight Voldermort and discover the Sorcerer's stone. Was this the same thing?

There were so many questions she had, but none of them had any answers. It drove her crazy. She thought about going to the library to work on her DADA essay but decided against it. It was much too late and she already had enough research for it.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a shuffling of papers, squeaky shoes and someone sitting down in front of her. She looked up and saw a confused face as well.

"Hermione, can I show you something?"

Now this confused her. "Um…sure."

He reached into his pocket and pulled a piece of parchment. On it, bore the letters The Final Potion. He handed it to her and she read it. She finished quickly and looked up. There was a grim expression on her face.

"Have you shown this to Dumbledore yet?"  
  
He cringed. He should've known that those were going to be the first words out of his mouth. "Well, not exactly."

"Draco! This is really important! It could be what Voldermort's been after all along! Come on, we are going to visit the headmaster." She made an attempt to drag him out of the common room but he was much too strong for her. "Come on!"

He gave in. He stood up and followed her out the door. Whether it was because he wanted her to stop pestering him, he wanted to show her that he cared or because he knew it was the right thing to do, he didn't know. For some reason, his legs weren't listening to his mind at the time.

So they walked to Dumbledore's office. Hermione said the password, "Canary Creams" and they were in. They weren't the only people to visit Dumbledore tonight. Inside, loud voices could be heard. They were arguing. Draco recognized two of the voices. One was the very loud and pompous Cornelius Fudge, the other was Arthur Weasley, the new Minister of Magic. Then, another voice joined in, this time a female one. It was the voice of Professor McGonnagall.

"You are not the Minister anymore Cornelius!" McGonnagall yelled.

"My dear woman, you surely aren't going to allow our new Minister here to go searching for heliopaths and what not? That's preposterous! There's no such thing!" It was Fudge's voice this time.

There was the sound of a drawer opening and closing. Then Arthur Weasley's voice said calmly, "If you won't believe us, perhaps you will believe your own eyes. It certainly worked last time. Can't you see it? Those aren't any normal flames Cornelius and anybody could see that. These are flames made by heliopaths, proving their existence!"

Chairs were being knocked over and they could her glass breaking. "No, that's utterly impossible. Merlin, you can't be serious!" The door opened rapidly and out came a flustered Fudge who was running away. Hermione and Draco looked back into the room to see Arthur Weasley and Minerva McGonnagall looking at them strangely. They smiled weakly before walking into his office.

"Minerva, if you could please pull up two more chairs for Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger?" McGonnagall waved her wand and two straight back chairs appeared. They sat down. "Now, what is this all about?"

There was an awkward silence where Draco was trying to figure out if this was the right thing to do. On one side, he didn't want to sell his father out, no matter how bad his was. On the other hand, something like this would make Hermione really happy.

As the silence grew longer, Hermione began shooting glances at him, and nudging him. Draco sighed and reached into his pocket, expecting to feel the paper in his hands. But it wasn't there. He put his hand in his other pocket and tried to find it but it wasn't there either. He stood up and reached into his back pockets and his pant's pockets and any where else it could've been but the paper was no where in sight. With a panic stricken look on his face he turned to look at Hermione.

"It's gone."

-Author's Notes-

Whew! We're already at chapter 15? Wow, time flies when your having fun writing!

Oh my. I had a total of 26 reviews this time around, mostly because of **Croaker** who went back and reviewed every single chapter!

If you wanna skip this entire thanking my reviewers thing, go to the bottom!

Merci to:

**KittyOfWonder:** Ok, this isn't really two chapters, but more of a really long chapter. How's Mexico? Tell me all about it! Thanks for reviewing!

**Croaker: **Wow, wow, wow, wow! Why aren't you allowed to read Harry Potter? Anyways, thank you so much! Are you a devoted reviewer? HECK YEAH! Thanks a bunch! How can I repay you for reviewing my story so much? Here's a giant cookie like you asked for! And I'll definatly do something special for you next time around. Sheesh, all the reviews. Whoa baby! Actually, a thought. How about a sneak preview of the next chapter? If you give me your email address, I'll send you the first couple of paragraphs! Thanks for every 14 reviews!

**CCBChunks: **Mysterious things are really hard for me to write. It might have to do with that face that I just come out and say things in real life anyways. Anyways, Snape is 'trying' to be nice to Dean. He's a really nice guy actually. Well, that's how I want him to be. Thanks for the review!

**Jbanana: **No problema. You guys are the only reason I keep writing! Thanks for the review!

**CassandraTheEvil**: Yep. You figured it out…well, maybe. Part of it anyways. So, thanks for the review! Hope you had fun with your homework!

**Hyper-Gurll:** Wow. You were hyper when you wrote my review! Gee thanks for all the compliments! Thanks for reviewing!

**Emily and Jessica: **Your ideas are going under consideration. I really don't know how I'm going to end this yet. So, just keep reading and maybe you'll find out! Thanks for the review!

**Stardrops: **How's it feel to be 16? Yes, Tom and Dan… Emma is pretty too. And that werewolf DID look like a monkey. Anyways, hope this was good! Thanks for the review!

**Horsemaster1:** Haha. I hope you did win, right? Anyways, thanks for the review!

**WeluweKR:** He did! He did! Thanks for reviewing!

**Michelle: **Thanks for the review!

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**Potts: **Thanks for reviewing!

Ok, something fun I thought I'd try with this chapter.

Poll: Who is the hottest guy in the HP movies?

Sean Biggerstaff

Tom Felton

Rupert Grint

Daniel Radcliffe

So, in your review, simply state the name of who you think should win the hottest guy award! Results coming soon!


	16. Snape's Gone

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive. Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?__.___

_- Draco Malfoy -_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

_"It's gone."_

Those words echoed with thousands of meanings. Gone was the paper. Gone was any evidence they had about it. Gone was any chance of beating the Dark side.

Nobody moved, but instead, stared at the two of them. Draco could feel their eyes boring into the back of his head. Hermione looked like she could've tore Hogwarts down just to find it.

Through gritted teeth, she managed to say, "What do you mean it's gone."

Draco had never been so scared in his life. Sure, she had slapped him once before but this time she was much angrier and much more knowledgeable about hexes and spells. There was a lot more than a stinging cheek at risk here. "I don't have it."

"Then where is it?"

Draco looked thoughtful for a minute. "Maybe we left it up in the common room."

Hermione looked like she could kill at that moment.

"Do you mind telling us what you have misplaced?" Dumbledore asked them. Draco noticed that he had a twinkle in his eye.

She looked over at Draco, obviously wanting him to speak. He just looked down at his shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. She rolled her eyes. "You see, Draco showed me a piece of parchment from a book. It was a page about a potion, The Final Potion. We're afraid that Voldermort may be trying to make this because the drinker will become immortal." Hermione explained.

Dumbledore just sat there, the smile on his face never leaving. It made Draco want to scream at him. Wasn't this the least bit important?

"Ah yes. I have been wondering which student would figure this out first. We have already known this for quite some time. In fact, we have some specialists studying it right now. You don't need to worry. However, if I may ask, where did you find this paper?"

Hermione looked at Draco. In truth though, Draco didn't want to get into this. He had never wanted to choose sides. Why did it seem like they thought he was working for the light? When had he said that?

Still, a world without Voldermort would be a splendid, more glorious place…

"It was in a book from the library. Can't remember the name." He stated simply.

"At least you informed us about this. That's all we can ask for." Dumbledore said. "Now, I think you two should head to bed. You have another long day ahead of you." He turned his back on them as Draco and Hermione walked out of his office.

&&&

Once out of hearing of the teachers, Hermione turned to Draco. "What do you mean you lost it? What do you mean you don't remember what book? Draco? What is going on? I can tell you know, so why won't you say anything?"

He stared helplessly at her. Here she was asking him questions that he should've been able to answer and yet, he couldn't answer them.

_So many questions, so little answers…_

"I just – Hermione it's just that – I don't know. It's all so confusing!" He threw his hands up in the air. "I think you should just – just stay away from me. I'm one of their targets aren't I? My parents are making me go home for Easter holidays and who knows what could happen. I just don't want to get them mad." He sighed.

"Doesn't your mom stand up for you? I thought she wasn't a death eater." Hermione asked curiously.

She saw him recoiled a bit. "Well – uh – you see – my - MY MOTHER'S DEAD ALRIGHT!" For the second time that year, he yelled at her. Only it wasn't a confused yell. It was an uncontrolled one. His eyes started to well up. Draco looked down, hoping that she wouldn't notice. However, she did.

She lifted his chin up and looked into his eyes. They were mesmerizing. "It'll be ok. Everything will be alright." An unnoticed tear fell down his cheek. She gave him a small smile before wiping it off. She hesitated a bit before pulling him into a hug, one that he gladly accepted.

For one brief moment, the pair of them became lost in each other's warmth. In that one second, they lost their identities. No longer were they Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, enemies since the day the met. Now they were nameless, unidentified people, almost becoming one. And yet, that moment had to end.

They pulled apart and just looked at each other. For the first time, Hermione saw him. She didn't see just his platinum blonde hair, his tantalizing grey eyes or those perfect lips that formed into a smirk so very often. Instead she saw a lost, lonely, little boy. He was just like everyone else. He had hopes, dreams and wishes. He wanted to be loved and to fall in love. He needed someone he could talk to. He needed a friend.

As she pulled him into another hug, she couldn't help but think -

She was seeing him. _Really _seeing him.

&&&

February slowly turned into March. The snow melted and the birds came out. The teachers were pestering them about their N.E.W.T.'s which were approaching at a deadly rate. Their homework piles were larger then ever and many 7th years suffered from exhaustion.

One thing that everyone was waiting for were the Easter holidays. Now, with only two weeks away, many people were telling each other about what they were going to do over holidays. It was clear that everyone had the same thing on their minds. It was going to be a week of relaxation and absolutely no homework.

For the unlucky few…

The people in the extra DADA class were asked to stay over the holiday as to work on some more curses. It was supposed to be much easier to do without so many distractions. Most people said yes right away. Draco on the other hand, had a tiny problem.

"Professor Snape?" He asked one day while in his potion's class.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked. Everyone else had left.

"I don't think I can stay over the holiday for…you know."

Snape looked thoughtful for a moment. "What reason do you have?"

Draco hesitated a bit before telling. "Father wants me to come home…" His voice trailed off.

"Ah. I see. Don't worry, I will speak to your father tomorrow [it's Friday] and tell him that…Well I'll tell him something. Now get along. You are already late for lunch." His long black cloak was the last thing Draco saw of him.

&&&

On the next Monday, Professor Snape didn't show up for class. Draco was worried. He said that he was going to go talk to Lucius about allowing Draco to stay over break. It shouldn't have taken 3 days to do it. Did Snape get hurt, possibly even killed?

He shook those thoughts out of his head. Snape was a grown man and could take care of himself. But perhaps he had also gone to visit Voldermort. Yes, that was it. He had gone to Voldermort last night and just hadn't returned yet. Of course. Snape wasn't a person to go missing without a logical reason.

The bell rung and he hurried up to clean up his books when Shacklebolt (Their substitute) stopped him.

"Malfoy," He said that word with utter disgust. "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office."

Draco nodded once to show that he understood before leaving. He swiftly left, not wanting to be in the dungeons for much longer. They brought back memories, terrible memories…

&&&

He knew something was wrong before Dumbledore even opened his mouth. The office, which was usually happy and cheery, suddenly seemed cold and lonely. Dumbledore's face showed that something terrible was about to be unveiled. But the biggest clues were in his eyes. There was no twinkle in them.

"Mr. Malfoy, I have a, well, a mission if you could call it that." Dumbledore began, his voice firm and calm. "Professor Snape has gone missing. I believe he was going back to ask your father if you could stay at Hogwarts for Easter. He hasn't returned as of this moment. I think that your father may have kidnapped him or something rather like that. What I am asking you to do is to go home tomorrow and find Professor Snape. Of course, you don't need to. If you do accept, your professors and myself will help you devise a plan. What do you say?" He asked before turning around and looking at Draco.

There was no question here, nothing to argue about. The pros outweighed the cons easily. "Yes. What do you need me to do."

"I need you to learn how to make yourself invisible by tonight."

-Author's Notes-

Ugh. Yes, yes. I know it's a REALLY short chapter. Really, it is. I just wanted to get it updated for you guys. It's been quite a while actually. Hope you liked!

Guess what? My birthday is coming up REALLY soon! June 25th!! XD I'm turning 13, I'm turning 13! Woot woot!

And the award for hottest guy goes to…

**TOM FELTON**

**&**

**DAN RADCLIFFE!**

Thanks a bunch to:

**CassandraTheEvil:** Ah, well yes I knew that. XD I just needed to ask everyone! Thanks for reviewing!

**Emily and Jessica: **Oh. My. God. That has got to be the single longest review I have ever gotten! Yeah, the last chapter was confusing, only cause I wrote it too fast. Erg…but in book 5, Luna talks about them someplace…yes. Thanks for your ideas but I don't know if I want to kill her off. If I don't end up doing that, I'll be sure to write _your _ ending anyways and send it to you! Thanks for the review!

**Horsemaster1: **I'm sorry you didn't win…Thanks for reviewing though!

**Sarah Tajuddin: **Thanks for the review! As you can see, he won!

**Kathryn-Colby:** Uhm…will you shoot me if I didn't have a good day? Then I did! Thanks for the review…no matter how threatening it was…

**Tal6: **Wow. I inspired somebody…well…kinda. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

**Elfaghetti: **Oh yes. Thanks for the review!

**Regina-Terrae: **Well, you found out! Thanks for the review!

**WeluvweKR: **I do too. No worries. Thanks for the review!

**CCBChunks: **Yes. Mugglenet. I love it. Anyways, if you would like to see what a heliopath is, read Emily and Jessica's response. Arthur was minister cause JK said Fudge wasn't anymore and Arthur is cool. Thanks for the review!

**Someperson: **Yeah I know. Thanks for the review!

**Rain Drops: **Sadly, he didn't win. Thanks for the review!

**The rest of my reviewers (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!):** Dan Radcliffe tied because of you! Thanks for the review!

**Croaker: **There you go! Thanks for the review!

Review please?


	17. Wishes

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!... What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors? _

_-Molly Weasley, George Weasley-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

So they practiced. Draco learned the incantation and after many tries, he finally succeeded. They had been working on it for about an hour and by the end of it, he could make himself fully invisible to the naked eye. However, this seemed like a lot of trouble just for becoming invisible. He decided to ask.

"Professor, this seems like a lot of trouble. Can't I use an invisibility cloak or at least a disillusionment charm? I'm sure that there is a potion I could use instead."

"Yes this is a lot of trouble. Disillusionment charms and invisibility cloaks are much too risky. There is a certain potion you could make but that would only disguise your body, not any of your clothing. I dare say you wouldn't like wandering around naked would you? Our top priority is your safety. We need to take all the precautions necessary. Now your father is a dangerous, very persuasive man. He has already gotten many of the workers in the ministry on his side. There is no way he is going to go back into Azkaban." Dumbledore explained.

"Something else I don't understand. Why do I have to go? I'm just a kid. An auror would do the job much better than I would." He asked.

"We chose you for many reasons. Some more obvious than others. You grew up there which makes you the most knowledgeable about the passage ways and such. You know your father the best. And you aren't a child anymore Draco. You are of age. You are a very gifted wizard. There are so many great things that you can do in life. This is just one of those many things. There is absolutely no question why I chose you. You can do this." Dumbledore sighed. "But I cannot force you to do something like this. However, you must choose by tomorrow morning. Professor Snape's life may rest in your decision."

&&&

Now Draco was in his room, getting ready for tomorrow. He figured that it would take more than one night to break Snape out of his house and so he needed to pack. After collecting his clothing, he headed to the common room to pick up some helpful books.

The head's common room was blessed to have walls filled with books on any subject. He immediately went to go look in the DADA section, used generally for homework. As he took out a book, someone behind him said.

"What are you doing?"

He dropped the book and bent down to get it. (Dude. Imagine sexy here.) Another hand gave him the book and when he looked up to see who it was, he saw Hermione. She was smiling at him.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"What are you talking about?" He answered.

She pointed to his bag of clothes on the couch. "Oh. Well… I'm going home for a few days."

"Why? Is something wrong? You know…besides…" Her voice trailed off.

Draco shook his head vigorously. "It's not that. I really can't tell you so you'll leave me alone now." He looked at her and felt his heart melt. "But I could, so long as you don't tell a single soul." She nodded her head eagerly. "I'm going home tomorrow. Dumbledore thinks that Snape is stuck in Malfoy Manor. Now I get to do my good deed of the day and go rescue him like- like- like I'm _Potter_ or something." He said the name with utmost disgust.

Surprisingly, Hermione said, "Well then I'm going too."

He automatically said, "No. It is too dangerous. I'm not letting you."

"That's exactly why I have to go. This is too risky for just one person. If I'm not going, then I'll find someone else to go with you. You are not to do this alone." She told him sternly. Draco just laughed. Her expression turned from serious to shock. "What? Don't you believe me?"

"Of course not. What sensible person would risk their life for another?" He laughed again.

"It's called _compassion_ Draco. You should really get some." She grabbed the book out of his hand and threw it on the floor.

Draco sighed and muttered, "Women," before heading to his room.

&&&

"Professor Dumbledore? Can I speak to you?" His voice echoed off the walls.

"Come in Mr. Malfoy. I have been expecting you." Indeed he was. There were two chairs out and Dumbledore was gazing intently at him from behind his half moon spectacles. One of the chairs held a bushy haired, know it all Gryffindor. She wouldn't turn around.

"Ms. Granger has brought a few things to my attention that I have overlooked (Yeah right. The man is a God. He knows all.) We are reorganizing your mission. Your chances of getting caught are greatly decreased if someone else came along with you. That is why, tomorrow, you two will be leaving by portkey back to Malfoy Manor."

Hermione had finally turned around. Draco glared at her. He could see the tips of her lips dying to form into a smirk. His smirk. The smirk that he should've been wearing on his face. Instead, he was using Hermione's glare. A glare so venomous, it could scare Lucius himself.

"I expect you two cooperate the entire way or else you may fail. There is much more at stake then you think there is. Much, much more." Dumbledore replied gravely.

&&&

Again, the two were walking back to the common room. All the time, Hermione was wondering why in the world she had volunteered to go with Draco. Then she remembered what she had told him just a few hours ago.

_"Of course not. What sensible person would risk their life for another?" He laughed again._

_"It's called _compassion_ Draco. You should really get some." She grabbed the book out of his hand and threw it on the floor._

She wanted to run over the nearest wall and hit her head against it. Why had she said that?

"Why Granger. I never knew you were so fond of me." Draco drawled. It had been awhile since he had done that. Hermione didn't miss it.

"What on earth are you talking about?" She countered.

He smirked. She didn't miss that either. "There wouldn't be any other reason as to why you would come with me unless you were fond of me."

"That's not the reason I am going Malfoy. Think about it. What would happen if the Head Boy simply disappeared. People would talk."

"Tell me whatever you want. No one can resist the Malfoy charm."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. There was no arguing with him. "Whatever you say Malfoy, whatever you say."

They told each other good night before heading up to their separate dormitories. Hermione began to pack things that would come in handy. Some clothes here, a few books there. And of course her wand.

She also decided to write a letter to Harry and Ron, telling them that she wouldn't be there tomorrow. She could imagine their faces if she just vanished. They would have a fit. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. Thinking, she put the quill down onto paper to create words.

_Dear Harry and Ron,_

_I'm going home for the next few days. Nothing's wrong so if you could please pay attention in class so I can see your notes. You too Ron._

_ Love,_

_ Hermione_

Hermione looked at it for a second, seeing it from her two best friends' point of view and she settled with it. She rolled it up and waited for her owl, Artemis, to come back. She had gotten it as a congratulations gift from her parents.

As she waited, she stared out into the night sky. The stars were twinkling back at her. When she was little, she was told that at night, God spread a blanket over the sky. The blanket become old and holes began to appear. He must've been using a very old blanket tonight. A very bright one caught her eye.

She closed her eyes and made a wish. She wished that tomorrow, everything would go right. Her and Draco wouldn't get harmed. Snape would be rescued. Lucius wouldn't know a thing.

As she was wishing, someone else was making the same wish. Together, they both said, "Keep them safe."

&&&

Author's Notes

Crappy chapter. Don't argue with me. It was a crappy chapter. I had been sitting in writer's block for almost a week. This chapter proved how much I worked on it. Don't worry, next chapter will definatly be filled with action. They go to Malfoy Manor tomorrow!

I have a beta now, but I posted this before they got to read it. Thanks Croaker!

Thanks you to all my reviewers… I'm sorry I don't have to thank each of you personally but I thought I'd get this up sooner. Otherwise you may not get this chapter for another week! My parents don't really know that I write fanfictions…

I'm also going to Chicago this Sunday. I'm hoping to get at least one more chapter up by then and another chapter written. I'll update when I'm in Chicago but don't panic if I don't update for like ten days. Cheers!

Happy 4th of July!

So please review!


	18. Malfoy Manor

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278 

Dedicated to;

Emily and Jessica 

_Lockhart'll sign anything if it stands still long enough.   
-Ron Weasley-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

Draco woke up earlier than usual, butterflies fluttering around nervously in his stomach. Today was the day he was going home. He was going to see his father, a murderer, again. And he was bringing to him, his number two victims.

He gathered his things and went downstairs where he saw Hermione running around frantically. He longed to turn invisible so that he could've watched her when suddenly he realized that Hermione didn't know how to become invisible. Draco rushed toward her but before he could say anything, words spilled out of her mouth.

"Draco! Thank goodness you're awake! Do you realize that it's already 7:30!? There's so much to do! I can't believe that I'm so far- What is it?" She snapped at him. He had poked her to get her attention.

"I kinda forgot to teach you how to become invisible."

"Is that all? I've known how to do that since Christmas. Disapirosis."

She tapped her head with her wand and vanished. He could see right through her. He really wanted to reach out his hand and see if she was still there. Someone said another spell and she reappeared. She smiled for a split second before ranting around again.

He decided to slip out of the common room in case she trampled him. Besides, he needed some breakfast before he left. Who knew what kind of dangers he could get in?

As he walked into the Great Hall, a few heads turned his way but he ignored them. He made his way over to the Slytherin table and took his usual seat between Crabbe and Goyle. They were stuffing themselves with food, although they didn't need to. Their stomachs bulged over the pants and their faces were round and chubby.

Draco quickly finished his breakfast, realizing how late it already was. He ran out of the Great Hall and went into Dumbledore's office, where Hermione was waiting. The way she looked, Draco figured she didn't take much time to look in the mirror.

"Hermione…have you looked in a mirror yet?" He asked.

"Wha-?" She began before Dumbledore walked into the room. In his hand he held a bright green ball.

"This is the portkey that will take you into the woods just outside of Malfoy Manor. I trust that you two are ready?" They both nodded. "Then, hurry and take this. Good luck to both of you." They reached out and grabbed the ball and felt that familiar feeling of being sent far, far away.

&&&

Hermione landed on something soft. She looked down and realized that she was sitting on Draco and quickly stood up. Brushing off the dirt on her skirt, she looked around. There was nothing but trees. It was a miracle if you knew the way out.

Draco stood up and also brushed off the dirt on his shirt. He looked around and began walking in one direction. Hermione had no idea if he knew what he was doing but followed him anyway.

They walked into the darkness, with no sign of an exit. He kept on walking though, with Hermione close behind. After an hour of walking, she gave up and plopped down onto the dirt. Draco noticed and turned around, quirking up an eyebrow.

"We're lost aren't we?" She asked.

"Err…no. Of course not. Malfoy's don't get lost…Alright, we're lost." He finally said. They sat in the silence for a bit before Hermione asked what direction his house faced.

"North."

She grinned and pulled out her wand. "Point me." Her wand spun around and faced the right of her. "Let's go." She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the right hand side. He obviously was confused so Hermione carefully explained it to him.

"The spell I just said makes my wand point north." He nodded his head and they continued their walk in silence.

After a couple of hours of walking, Hermione could see a light in the distance. She began to jog towards it, as the it grew brighter and brighter. Soon, she broke out into a full sprint but Draco easily caught up to her. No words were needed to explain what was going on but they kept on running, never taking a break.

Soon, they reached they edge of the forest. It was mid morning still and the sun was shining high above them, beating down on their heads. They cautiously moved closer to the manor, keeping an eye out for anybody watching them.

Hermione glanced at the manor and the only word she could find to describe it was big. It wasn't at all what she imagined it to be. In her mind, the manor resembled a muggle haunted house, with a grey cloud hovering over it and lightening streaking the sky. She had expected to see bats flying out of broken windows and tattered shutters.

Instead, she saw a gorgeous house, resembling one that a muggle millionaire would live in. It was nothing short of magnificent. It was made of red brick, giving it an old world feel. Green ivy was growing down along the walls. There were countless balconies, all of which were surrounded by detailed black fences. It was nothing she had expected it to be.

She stood there gazing at the marvelous house until Draco nudged her and they went even closer to the house. She followed him past statues and past flower beds, past towering trees and through a door.

The inside of the house wasn't anything she had imagined either, although that was expected. They were in what looked like a kitchen. Warm lighting flooded the room, and another door on her left-hand side held the heading **HOUSE ELVES**. She supposed that, that was where the house elves lived.

He led her out of the kitchen into the corridor and pulled close to him. For a split second, she was sure that he was going to kiss her but she was proven wrong when he began to speak in a hushed voice.

"Listen, once we turn invisible the only way we can make sure where the other is by keeping in touch. Just follow me and everything will be fine. The only place Snape could be is down in the dungeons. When we get down there, try not to say anything or make any noise. It's a lot different from the rest of the house." She nodded. "Here, take my hand. Disapirosis." Hermione grabbed his hand and disappeared herself.

It was rather odd to look down at your hand and see right through it. It was even more odd to feel someone else's hand holding yours but you can't see it either. It was strange indeed.

Hermione made sure that her hand was in Draco's at all times. They walked down the hallway, making sure that their footsteps wouldn't be heard. They then turned to the stairs and they walked down it. Draco opened the door and Hermione found herself in another fantastic room.

There were portraits up on the wall of what seemed to be deceased Malfoys. She could see a portrait of Narcissa Malfoy, smiling sweetly out of her picture and she could've sworn that she winked at her. She shook her head and followed Draco out of the room.

The door revealed a room that was by far the grandest room she had ever seen. Chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, glittering brightly. The room mostly white; white couches, a white coffee table, a white grand piano. But the thing that caught her attention the most, was a glass fountain in the middle of the room. The water sprayed gracefully out of a beautiful dragon's mouth. It's tail made up the tub it was in. Long spikes were pointed upward of the tail.

Surprisingly, Draco walked over toward the fountain and picked a spike that seemed to have been broken before and fixed. There was a long crack running from the tip down to the base. She watched as the spike turned a deep green color and suddenly the fountain sank into the ground. Fighting the urge to gasp, she watched as a staircase appeared. There was a tug from Draco and she was pulled down the stairs into something else she didn't expect.

Whereas the entire Malfoy house was elegant, clean and generally well decorated, the room she was in now was the complete opposite. The stone floor was wet and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages. The stone walls were also wet, and had some sort of green slime on it. There were cells lined up against the wall. The ones in sight were empty. Draco pulled her farther down the hallway. Her eyes darted from left to right, wishing with all her hear that Snape was ok. She had seen enough horror movies to know what could've happened.

They continued to walk down the hallway for what seemed like hours until Draco stopped abruptly. Hermione covered her mouth with her free hand as she gasped. Snape _had_ been kidnapped by Lucius. He was lying unconscious on the stone floor, sprawled out.

She heard the lock click and figured that Draco had either the keys or his wand. They slowly opened the door, hoping that it wouldn't squeak but it did. They ran in and hurriedly tried to wake up their professor by shaking him, nudging him and hitting him. It didn't work.

Hermione felt hot breath in her ears and heard the recognizable voice of Draco. "I'm going to turn him invisible and then we're going to carry him out of here alright? Try not to make any noise."

She nodded but of course he didn't see it. She watched as the man in front of her disappeared and she bent down to pick him up. Since he was invisible, it was tough to figure out where exactly her hands should go. Her hands missed twice before she actually felt something that resembled a head. She carefully picked it up and waited until she felt that weight lighten. They began to walk out of the cell when they saw a flash of blonde come in. Hermione looked around helplessly but kept on walking. She stopped when the blonde hair walked nearer to her.

Panic. That was what she was doing. Lucius kept on walking, his eyes ablaze, his mouth grinning insanely. _'Could he see invisible people? Did he hear us? Oh no, he's getting closer! What am I supposed to do?'_

Lucius walked nearer and nearer and stopped a few feet away from them. His grin widened as he looked not at Hermione, not even at Snape but as he looked at his son. Confused, Hermione looked over at him and saw that Draco's hand had been revealed. Obviously someone would've been highly suspicious if they saw a floating hand.

"Repisatoris."

She watched in horror as Draco reappeared again. There was no look of panic or horror on his face, which surprised her. Had it been her, she would've been near tears now.

"Draco, my son. What brings you here? How did you get in?" Lucius asked.

Draco smirked. "Do I now need a reason to come back to the place I grew up in?"

"Of course not. But it is the middle of the day and surely you have classes."

Draco merely stared back at him.

"Why don't you put your arms down." It was an order, not a request. And he did.

It took all of Hermione's strength to not let Snape hit the ground with a loud thud. However, she should've just dropped him because after another spell, Snape was visible too. She immediately dropped his head and stepped backward.

"Ah. Now this is interesting." Lucius walked over to the greasy haired man and gave him a kick in the head. He didn't budge. Still out cold. He turned his attention onto Draco. "You come home as you skip school without no apparent reason and I see you trying to break my prisoner out of his cell."

Draco just smirked. His father looked furious.

"Why you little son of a - CRUCIO!"

Hermione squeaked as she saw the jet of light hit Draco squarely in the chest. He doubled over but didn't cry out at all. Lucius kept his wand held in his arm, never stopping. After a short period of time, Draco's head snapped up. His normally mysterious silver eyes were ablaze with anger as he glared at his father. With all the strength he could muster, he stood up, straight and proud.

"I am no son of yours."

Lucius' eyes widened and he dropped his wand. He walked slowly over to his son, staring at him in disbelief. Then, out of nowhere, his fist made contact with Draco's jaw. He fell backward onto the stone floor. Lucius bent down and picked up both Draco and Snape and looked directly at Hermione. She stopped breathing for a minute until he left the dungeons. Once she made sure that no one was around she sighed and said, "Great. Now what am I supposed to do?" But there was no question what she had to do. She had to go save both Snape and Draco. To top things off, she had no idea how to get herself around the house.

She was sure that Lucius would be wandering the halls, keeping a look out for anyone else. Then she didn't have a clue to where Draco could've been. _'Men! Cant take care of themselves.'_

Hermione hurriedly got her thoughts back together and began creeping toward the dungeon door. Thankfully, the door had been left unlocked and she slipped out quietly. She walked up the stairs and left the room. The first thing she did was to check herself and renewed her invisibility spell. Then, she raced up the stairs, hoping that she was going in the right direction.

She turned the corner and was met by a long hallway, with at least ten doors on either side. _'Great. This is fantastic.'_ She ran to the first door and opened it, keeping her eyes closed. She let out a breath when she saw that it was just a very plain and ordinary bathroom.

Walking out, she looked down the corridor and chose the next door. That turned out to be a room full of paintings. This continued until she reached a very handsomely polished oak door. Her hand reached out to turn the silver handle. Behind the door, laid an elegant room, decorated in deep greens and mysterious silvers. Somehow, she had managed to stumble upon Draco's room.

There was a canopy bed placed in the corner. Beside that was a wooden desk, with a lamp shining brightly upon it. But, as in the previous rooms, one thing caught her attention and drew her closer toward it. A large dresser was backed up on a wall. There was a mirror, reflecting everything in the room but of course she couldn't see herself. On it, pictures of a family were waving and smiling happily out of their silver frames. Hermione couldn't help but notice that as the young boy in the picture grew older, his expression became more forced.

She opened the drawer and pulled out a few papers. The papers turned out to be photos of herself, eating in the Great Hall, studying in the library, brewing a potion or just talking to Harry and Ron.

"So are you the girl he talks about all the time? The one he's got pictures of?" A clear voice rang through the room.

Hermione dropped the picture of herself. Her head spun wildly around, trying to find out the source of the voice. When she couldn't see anyone, she nervously said, "Who-who's there?"

"No need to worry dear. I can see all, and I can hear all. I am the mirror." She didn't believe it but nodded her head nonetheless. If somebody wanted to play that game, she'd play along with them.

"Those are excellent photographs aren't they?" The same voice rang out.

"Yes." She breathed. "They are lovely." She placed them delicately back into their original position and pulled out an emerald encrusted box. She opened it and a scroll fell out of it, sealed tightly. Unrolling it, she saw that it was just a bit of parchment, the letters MM on it. However it wasn't like Draco to have something like this without it actually meaning something...

"If I may interrupt. I believe he taps his wand on it and says er - _let me out_."

For some strange reason, she believed she could trust the mirror and pulled out her wand. Whispering the incantation, she watched as ink began to rise out of the paper, making what was obviously a map. Dots labeled with names walked around on it. Why it was a version of the Marauder's Map!

She looked eagerly around the map for their names but to her dismay, they were nowhere to be found. Looking helplessly at the mirror, she asked why they weren't on there.

"I hate to tell you this dear but he hasn't exactly finished it yet..." It's voice trailed off. Her jaw dropped to the floor. She hoped that this was a joke, a cruel mirror's joke.

"You are kidding right?" She asked, chuckling a little bit.

"Afraid not."

She didn't say anything back to it, because she thought if she opened her mouth, angry words that she didn't mean would come spilling out of it. Stuffing the parchment into her pocket, she stomped out of the room.

Once out of the room, she pulled out the map and stared at it, willing it to magically finish itself. When it didn't, she let out a cry of frustration but quickly covered her a mouth. She realized that someone had heard her when a house elf cautiously walked out from behind a statue, its eyes opened wide in fear. It stared around, trying to identify where that noise had come from. When it saw the map floating there, it let out a high-pitched squeak.

Footsteps could be heard coming toward them and Hermione hid behind the nearest statue. The footsteps belonged to a Lucius Malfoy. He walked over to the house elf, whose eyes were still wide open. A wavering hand was pointed exactly where Hermione had been a few minutes ago.

Lucius had a look of pure disgust on his face as he talked to the elf.

"What are you doing here?"

" Master! There is someone in here!" He kicked the elf.

"There is no one here you idiot. Get back to work or you'll end up like your brother Dobby!"

"Y-yes sir."

As soon as Lucius had left, the elf began to wail and started to hit itself. Hermione shut her eyes, trying to block out the images of the elf injuring itself. However, if this was Dobbys brother…

"Excuse me."

The elf stopped crying and looked around nervously. "Who is there?"

She cleared her throat and his head spun and looked at her. Well, looked at the map is more like it. "My name is Hermione Granger. I'm a friend of Dobby."

"Miss knows where Dobby is? Miss must tell Lonny!"

"H-he's at Hogwarts." She stammered.

Lonny nodded. "Lonny will show you where Master is." The house elf began to leave. Hermione stared at him before running after, the map lying forgotten at the foot of the statue.

&&&

Somewhere in Malfoy Manor, two men were sitting in a dimly lit room, discussing their plans in hushed voices.

"…then he'll kill her. He'll have no choice."

A blonde haired man nodded and his lips twisted into an evil grin. "Yes, but are you sure the mudblood will look for him?" A greasy haired man nodded back.

"You haven't seen them around school. Besides, she's a mudblood Gryffindor. They are too dim to know when they are walking straight into a trap. We can't fail. I'm sure she's already on her way to this room. That stupid house elf would have shown her how to get here already. She thinks that Lonny is helping her." He laughed. "I do believe I hear footsteps Lucius. Shall we get ready?"

"Of course. Let's begin our plans."

A younger blonde haired boy was beginning to wake up in the corner…

&&&

"Lonny, are you sure this is the right way?" Hermione asked uneasily.

The elf nodded again. "Lonny is sure! Master is in there right now! Now Lonny is leaving. Bye Miss!"

Perhaps if Hermione wasn't paying so much attention to the door in front of her, she may have noticed that the elf didn't punish itself once along the way. She pulled out her wand and muttered an appearing spell. Suddenly, she could see her hands, robes and wand. Quietly, she opened the door and found the shock of her life. It was a small room, almost closet sized. Two men were standing in front of her, one having blonde hair and piercing grey eyes, the other having greasy hair and small, black, beady eyes. Both were smiling at her and holding onto the arms of a younger boy, who was almost the exact replica of his father.

"Miss Granger. How nice of you to join us. If you'll just wait a moment, our other guest should be awakening any moment now." Lucius said.

Draco indeed was waking up, his eyes groggy and distant. He looked around, muttering words that none of them could hear before abruptly pulling himself out of their grasp. He failed miserably.

"Now, now Draco. You surely don't want to leave now do you? Not before you hear what we are offering you. It's something you've been dying to do. Now, I'm willing to admit that I am a death eater. I'm sure your mudblood friend here knew that. Severus here was and still is a death eater, I'm sure you know that as well. After all, you are head boy. Severus is luckier than most. He has been vouched by Albus Dumbledore to have changed. The Ministry trusts him. Dumbledore trusts him. The old fool would go to any lengths to save him. So, together, under the orders of Voldermort, we began to form a plan. He would come here, pretending to be kidnapped. Dumbledore would fear the worst had happened to his potion's master and send my son to come save him. However, we did not expect that the mudblood would come along as well. We feared that it would interfere with our plans. Luckily, she played to our advantage. So my son. Today will be a magnificent day. Today, Draco Malfoy enters the rank of the death eaters."

Lucius' cold eyes looked into Draco's. Suddenly, Draco began to grab his arm, howling in pain. Then he stopped and nervously pulled up the sleeves of his robe. When he saw what was there, he closed his eyes for a moment before looking at his father.

"What have you done?"

Lucius laughed. "What have I done? What have I done! Why Draco, I have bestowed upon you a wonderful gift! The Dark Mark is now on your arms. Of course, this is only temporary. The Dark Lord will decide if you are worthy enough to join his death eaters. This is where the mudblood comes in. The Dark Lord believes that you must prove that you are ready to rid the world of scum like her." He gave Draco a sword.

Hermione collapsed onto the floor in a heap of tears. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it.

"And what if I choose not to?" He asked bravely.

"Then you will both die a slow and painful death." Snape replied calmly.

"Do it now, or I will kill you." Lucius said coolly, playing with the sword. When he didn't do anything, Lucius picked Hermione up and pointed the sword at her throat. Her eyes grew wide and fearful as he pulled the sword farther back, ready to attack. She looked at Draco and prayed that he would help her.

Draco suddenly pulled out his wand and made graceful movements with it. At last an ice blue line appeared at the end of the wand and went straight through Hermione's small and helpless body. She stared at him in shock before falling backward onto the stone.

Lucius dropped the sword and cautiously bent down to look at her. He muttered a few words to himself as he placed his fingers on her wrist, as if checking for a pulse. He then waved his wand over her and a soft blue light emitted from the top. Then he stood up and looked at Draco.

"Well done. I knew you wouldn't let me down son." Lucius walked over to Draco and Snape and they walked out of the room, leaving Hermione lying on the cold stone floor.

**-Author's Notes- **

Whoo hoo! Long chapter! But I'm so sorry it took so long! I was in Chicago then I had to finish it at home and I thought I had lost but then I found it…it was all really hectic.

A big thanks to Croaker, my beta! Of course, a very special thank you to;

HorseMaster1, Stardrops, CassandraTheEvil, Jomai, Regina-Terrae, KittyOfWonder,Jbanana, Relena333, CrikChick321, Potts, and Emily and Jessica.

This chapter is dedicated to Emily and Jessica. Much love to you two.


	19. Malfoy Manor II

**Love and Hate******

By Tennisplaya278

Harry, you're worse than Ron! Well, no you're not.  
- Hermione Granger-

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

Draco walked down the hallway, behind Lucius and Snape. Something very odd was going on with the back of his professor's head. His greasy black hair was shrinking and turning brown. Snape turned around rapidly and Draco saw that his eyes were now a muddy brown color. Casting Lucius a knowing glance, he disappeared with a loud crack.

Lucius was smiling, and staring straight ahead. When he spoke, his lips moved only slightly and his cold grey eyes were softening.

"I knew you would do it."

Draco frowned and kept his silence.

"I knew from the moment you saw what I was offering. I knew you would never be able to refuse. It's what you've always wanted. You said so yourself."

He wanted to scream at his father, yell at him for lying about what he said. Shout at him that he had no choice. Roar that he had never wanted it. But he kept his silence and was rewarded for it.

His father led him to a handsomely polished oak door with a silver handle. Draco practically jumped into his room but sighed when he heard the door lock behind him. He knew that Lucius would do that and found himself laughing that he had even hoped that Lucius would forget.

A small smile reached his face as he walked over to his dresser and opened the drawer. He pulled out an emerald encrusted box and opened it, expecting a roll of parchment. Instead, all he saw was the dark green velvet that lined the bottom of the box. He searched through the drawer, hoping that maybe he had forgotten to put it in the box. He looked around his room and even in his bathroom. When he couldn't find it, he asked his mirror.

"Well you see. She took it."

His jaw dropped and he shook his head. "Who? Who took my map?"

"Come to think of it, I don't think I caught her name. No worries though. I believe she was the girl in your photographs."

Draco believed if his mirror had a face, it would be grinning broadly. His grip around the box tightened.

"No, no, no, no, no. This is not a good thing!" Then he remembered something. "Of course she has absolutely no idea how to use it!"

"Er…"

He stared at his mirror. There was no way. "You didn't. Of course you didn't. She didn't have the map with her at the time," said Draco nervously.

A silence followed his words that told him that a truth had been revealed.

So for the next few hours, he did everything in his power to keep himself busy and his mind off the map. Draco read, wrote, cleaned, spoke with his mirror, practiced spells and once even decided to try and juggle. However, after an hour of running around, he became bored beyond belief. He laid down wearily onto his bed as irresistible waves of sleep swept over him, ignoring the slight tingling on his arm.

&&&

_Thump. Thump.___

Draco groaned and rolled over onto his stomach, eyes refusing to open. After a few more knocks, he got up and answered the door. It was his house elf Lonny.

"Master is being asked to go to dinner."

He nodded. "You are excused."

He watched the house elf scuttle off and then turned to face his closet. Undressing, he rummaged through his closet for some clean dress robes. No doubt his father had some important businessman to bribe or threaten. Once they were found, he put them on and went down into his dining room.

Like all the other rooms in his manor, the dining room was large and elegant. Glittering chandeliers hung over the long tables. Portraits lined the walls and huge diamond statues stood in between them.

Delicious smells filled the room and lured Draco toward his usual seat, which today was next to Snape. He sat down unwillingly and began to pile food onto his plate. He ate in silence as Lucius and Snape shared a conversation, which went something like this.

"Lucius." Snape nodded.

"How nice of you to join us." Lucius nodded to him.

"Lovely weather we're having." Snape said, taking a bite out of his food.

"Perfect conditions for quidditch." Lucius said taking a sip of his wine.

Draco wanted to punch him.

By dessert, he still hadn't uttered a single word but no one seemed to notice. When he stood up to go back to his room, (and to hopefully stumble upon his map!) Lucius did notice and excused himself to 'escort' Draco back to his room.

Lucius' hands rested on Draco's shoulder in a tighter than usual grip. He kept his mouth shut though, which paid off in the end because when Lucius closed the door to his room, there was no click on the other side. Draco shook his head and anxiously turned the handle.

A creak and he was out. 

Caution over took him in a second as he blended into the shadows that were taking over the hallway. He made his way down the stairs and kept his eye out for any signs of a piece of parchment. Turning left, something caught his eye and to his amazement, he had found his map! It was surprising how fast he had found it.

"Let me out."

Ink rose from the paper like magic and dots moved around. He found Lucius in his study with Rookwood, probably 'making plans' for him.

Now to get reacquainted with the manor.

He turned around the corner and headed down the stairs, moving quickly and quietly. The first room he wanted to visit was a hidden room that only he knew about. Within it were his most prized possessions; his first broom, his books, his photos, his television (yes, that's why he was hiding it there,) and most importantly, that was where his owl, Mulvane, lived.

Looking around to make sure no one was looking, he stopped in front of a large tapestry featuring two snakes entangled together. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand, pointing it toward the floor. Tapping first the top brick, three bricks to the right and one brick below, the snakes' eyes suddenly gleamed bright red. Draco then walked straight through the wall.

On the other side was a small, dingy room. It smelt heavily like owl droppings and dead mice. To his horror, when he went to look at the television, it was smashed.

_Cough, cough.___

Draco spun around and saw a greasy haired man with small black beady eyes. His once black robes were now torn and matted with blood. He was lying unconscious on the floor, in a crumpled heap.

Professor…Snape?

He walked warily toward the person on the floor and found that it was his professor. Black eyes were staring at Draco although he wasn't sure if that was exactly true. Snape did say something though before unconscious again.

"Help…Lucius…Dark…Vile…Need…Door…"

Draco had no idea what he meant but instead picked him up again and snuck him out. He walked up the stairs, tripping twice due to the weight on his back. Up the stairs he went and down the hallway and into his room, where he already had a visitor.

A bright red phoenix was giving him a very nasty glare from the edge of his bed.

**-Author's Notes-**

Ahhh! Short chapter and I'm so sorry about it! It's just that…that's all that should belong in this chapter! Sorry!

Thanks to the few people who reviewed:

**Croaker**: Thank you so much for beta-ing my story! You've made it better than ever! You are the best!

**CCBChunks**: Thanks for helping me sort through my ideas. Wow, this story is going to be amazing! You rock too. Much love to you.

**KittyOfWonde**r: you figure it out yet? No? Well you'll find out for sure next chapter!

**Emily and Jessica:** I am so happy that you guys liked the last chapter but the story's not over that fast. I hope that this chapter did you guys justice as your ideas are amazing. I was smiling so much when I read your review. Thank you.

**FourthIv:** Thanks for putting me on those lists! I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**Jomai:** I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review!

**Tinkerbellphish:** Thanks for reviewing!

**Stardrops:** Wow. I'm so stupid, I forgot that he was a death eater. Go me. Yes, we'd all like a dragon fountain. Actually I like their house. I want it. :D

**Steffe:** Thanks for the review!

New chapter on its way.

While your waiting, you may want to check out a few sites. (Hah. Advertising here people.) My blends site is up and running. www. geocities. com / tacoangel2002 (don't ask). Uh…oh yes. For all you Tom lovers out there, his 17th birthday is coming up soon and mugglenet is putting together a scrapbook for him. Check it out. www. mugglenet. com / tombs. shtml

Much love.


	20. Narcissa's Tale

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_Harry, you're worse than Ron! Well, no you're not.  
- Hermione Granger-_

_-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-_

The scarlet phoenix's eyes glared back at him in such a way that sent shivers up and down his spine. Only one person had ever done that to him but he was positive it wasn't who he thought it was. It just wasn't _possible_ to tell you the truth. Especially because it was against the law.

He dropped Snape onto a chair and whispered, "Are you crazy?"

"That bird," the voice faltered at the phoenix's nasty look, "I mean phoenix has been there for quite some time, although I have no idea why."

Draco groaned. Of all the times his mirror had to butt in. "Look, ever since you began talking, I've kept quiet but I think that now I have the right to speak!"

"Draco Malfoy, is that anyway to speak to your-" but was interrupted by an impatient, "Ahem" from behind him. Nervously he turned around.

In place of the phoenix was a very pretty girl sitting on his bed. She had brown bushy hair that fell gently down her back. Standing just below his eyes, she was just the perfect height. Everything about her was perfect. But her eyes were such an interesting color that seemed to change with her mood. Golden flecks were shining brightly against the honey brown of her eyes as if a raging fire was burning from within.

"You do realize what you have done, don't you? One, practically killed me. Two, practically killed him. (She was referring to Snape.) Three, allowed your father to find out about this and lastly have gotten us trapped in this bloody house!" Hermione threw her hands up in frustration. "What were you thinking? No, don't answer that. The real question now is what are we going to do with this piece of scum?"

His eyes widened and he ran over, picked her up and twirled her around while chanting, "You're alright!"

She rolled her eyes but smiled and said, "Of course I am. You don't think that I didn't know what that spell was? I'm not head girl for just any reason. However, do you mind telling me what spell you are going to use next time?"

He set her down and smirked, "Right and allow Lucius to stop me? Smart thinking Granger. What happened to the bookworm I know and love?"

A blush crept up into her pale cheeks but she still told him off about it.

"Ah the Gryffindor lives!"

Hermione made a reach for a pill, no doubt to pummel him with, but instead grabbed Snape's hair. She yelped as she quickly pulled back her fingers as if she had been burnt but refrained from sucking on them.

"Almost forgot about him."

Draco began to pace around the room. "Why is he beaten up anyway? Shouldn't he be somewhere snogging Lucius?"

She told him off again.

"Alright! Do you think that we should wake Snape up or not? Maybe he can tell us what's going on."

A new voice popped up. "Snape? Severus Snape?"

Both teenagers faced the mirror angrily but it was Hermione who spoke up first. "Well I'm glad you know his name! Maybe you two can get together some time but right now we have to figure out what we are going to do with this filthy, betraying scumbag!" Hermione's voice rose to such a loud tone that Draco had to shush her.

"I'm sorry but I thought you'd like to know that Severus is nothing of which you described him!"

"Oh? What do you know? You're just a silly talking mirror." She spat back.

"That was what I was trying to explain before you _rudely _interrupted me. I am-"

"Oh don't make me laugh! I did not interrupt you much less rudely!" Hermione countered.

"Well yes," the mirror said, "you did with your little 'ahem' back there."

This continued as Draco watched on the side, eyes darting back and forth. Eventually he stopped listening all together. He was sure he was safe until Hermione yelled his name.

"Did you hear what she said!?"

Draco was confused. "Who's 'she'?" He asked.

She smiled at him as his mirror began to speak. "Draco? It's me, your mother."

He jumped off the bed and shouted, "What?! Mother?! How are you? Why on earth are you a mirror? What happened? I thought you were-"

"-dead?" Narcissa the Mirror finished.

"Yes! Why are you a mirror all of a sudden?" Draco sat down on the bed, his mouth still open.

"I'd like to know that too actually." Hermione added, sitting down next to Draco.

"Well, it happened someday in January. Actually, it really began the day you were born Draco. You have to understand one thing. Lucius didn't used to be this…malicious. He was a sweet, caring man, dragged into being a death eater by his own father. So, on the day you were born, he acted like a father. He paced back and forth, waiting for you to be born. Thinking back it was actually amusing. He kept mumbling and became very twitchy. I think he hexed one of the healers." She laughed. "So you were born and we couldn't be happier. The healers took you away to make sure that you were healthy. Soon, our healer walked in with a frown on his face. At first we frightened that you were sick or worst of all, a squib! But no, he simply told us that you had bitten his finger and handed you back to us.

"So we took you home and raised you. Lucius was already becoming a death eater at the time. We worried day and night that the aurors would come and take you away. However, Voldermort was kind and allowed us five years to raise you. I treasured that time. Everything was going along fine until Voldermort's downfall by Harry Potter. But what seemed like an obstacle turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Every wizard and witch was celebrating so joyously that they forgot about the word 'death eater'.

"It didn't last and neither did Lucius' kind nature. Soon things were getting chaotic. As much as your father loved you, he wanted power more. So he began to train you to follow his footsteps and become a death eater as well. I can't say that I agreed with his teachings but I loved him and I loved you so I stood back and didn't say a word.

"However, it got to the point where enough was enough. One day he was using various hexes on you as you ran around frantically trying to dodge them. It was training his reflexes for quidditch Lucius would say. When a disarming spell knocked you away I told him to stop it. I think that it was a big shock for him because in a few seconds he slapped me. And so the war began.

When Lucius left the house to do who knows what, I would raise you and teach you about life and respect. Once Lucius set foot into the manor, he would train you in becoming a death eater, against all my pleading." She sighed. "He used to be such a gentleman! So free spirited and carefree!"

"Then what happened?" Draco urged.

"Well, it just kept on going and slowly we fell out of love and became just two people stuck together in one house. It was terrible. I couldn't look him in the face any more. Voldermort had changed him and I was afraid that I was going to lose you too. Apparently Lucius found out that I was trying to discourage you from becoming a death eater and so one night, we sat down to dinner. It was our anniversary and I was surprised that he even managed to remember. He brought out to glasses of wine and offered one to me. I gladly accepted it and so a took a sip and…I landed here."  
  
"Wait, Lucius turned you into a mirror? What good is that?" asked Draco, confused.

"Well, from her story I don't think he meant to." Hermione added thoughtfully. Draco looked at her and she continued. "I think he was making a poison to kill her. Avada Kedavra would be too much of a risk I think so he made the potion. But somehow, he messed it up and it trapped Narcissa in a mirror."

"No he didn't trap in just one mirror. I can travel from one to another."

Draco added, "Like a painting?"

Hermione nodded and a gloomy silence followed after words as they all tried to digest the information.

A moan brought them back to earth and they turned to look at Snape on the bed who was now awakening. He whispered, "Where am I?"

**-Author's Notes-**

Long wait and I'm sorry for that. This was mostly and explanation chapter so I'm sorry if got a little boring toward the end. :P I tried.

Thanks to:

**CCBChunks**: Yeah, I know it was sudden. Sorry bout that. I'm glad you like my story. :D Hope you keep on reading it. Thanks for the review!

**HarryPTax204**: Thanks for reviewing!

**Rachel:** Wow. Even though it was a short review it really made me smile. No one has ever told me I sound like JKR. Thanks for the reviews!

**Stardrops**: Suspense is good. Very good. Scandelously Short. That I don't like. Thanks for the review!

**Jomai**: Thanks for the review!

**DonThavel**: I'm glad I have your attention. Thanks for reviewing!

**KittyOfWonder**: Haha. I love getting hyper. Hope backpacking camp was fun! Thanks for the review!

**Rachel2**: Thanks for the review! I wouldn't say it was the best…;)

**Jbanana**: It's ok. Thanks for reviewing though! It means a lot to me.

**Potts**: Didn't really understand your review but thanks none the less!

As always, thanks to **Croaker** for beta-ing my story.

Well, best wishes.

-Michelle :: Tennisplaya278


	21. Plans

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_I've thought it through and my worst brings out the best in you.  
- A Decade Under the Influence; Taking Back Sunday-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

_"Where am I?"_

Both pairs of eyes turned to look as their Potion's Master sat up groggily. Their hands reached inside their pockets, ready to reach for their wands but just as Draco was about to mutter a spell Snape fell backwards and was unconscious again. They lowered their wands and tried to figure out what to do.

A very familiar silence crept upon them all and predictably, it was broken by Narcissa, the mirror. If their was one thing that Hermione had learned during the past day was that Draco had a very talkative mother.

"Now that was certainly interesting."

Apparently Draco had just about enough of his mother's nonsense and picked up the nearby box and threw it toward the mirror. Unfortunately for his mother, the box hit the mirror in the center and the whole thing began to shatter. There was a distant shriek from his bathroom which meant that she had gotten away safely.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione noticed that Draco had sighed and was going to pick up the box and repair the mirror. Then she watched as he stopped suddenly as if something he had been searching for all his life was right in front of his eyes. Little did she know…

It was not what he had been searching for or even hoping to find. In fact, he had never even seen or heard about it his entire life.

On the shelf was a golden chain attached to what was unmistakably a key. It too was gold and there were rubies engraved into it. He flipped it over and etched on the other side was, GP. Curiously, he showed it to Hermione who frowned.

"Well, nobody makes a key that doesn't open something. That would be such a waste of time." Her frown deepened. "GP? What could possibly that mean?"

She pocketed it and brushed it off, saying that getting out was more important than anything else. With her wand, she magicked up his map of Malfoy Manor to study it. Together, they filled in the missing blanks until the map was completed.

By then it was very late and both were exhausted from the long day. Draco conjured up some blankets and a pillow and began to head for the couch to sleep on it. Hermione on the other hand, insisted that he sleep on the bed and she would sleep on the couch. In the end, Hermione was on the bed and Draco was on the couch.

"Good night Hermione."

"Night Draco."

"Sweet dreams."

"You too."

The lights went out and both fell into a dreamless sleep, content with where they were and who they were with.

&&&

Sometime during the night, Hermione woke up and realized that maybe a few charms on his room would be a bit helpful. Thus, a silencing, locking and a few other charms were cast and the room was as safe as it could get. Unless of course, Lucius would resort to the Dark Arts. Then, and only then, would they be in trouble.

Narcissa figured it out and the next day, a shriek woke them up. Apparently, Narcissa had decided to tune up her singing voice. Unfortunately for them, she didn't have a particularly good voice and it turned into a loud cry. She kept shouting and yelling until Draco finally had to threaten her again with the same box.

Draco walked over to the bed in which Hermione was resting and peered at her face. She was frowning but it wasn't unusual. Her face seemed to have been permanent grimace on it.

His arms gently shook her awake and she groggily nodded her head before her eyes opened. She squinted at him and blinked. Groaning, she stood up.

"What time is it?"

"5:30."

Hermione groaned again but smiled afterwards. "So I believe it's time to get out of this house? I'm missing Hogwarts terribly and I'm sure Ron and Harry are a bit worried. And I'm so far behind on my homework and – Oh! We have that test in transfiguration…"

He smiled at her awkwardly before summoning up his map. Together, they began to work on it and by seven, it was near completion. The only things missing were the dungeons and a room that neither Draco or Narcissa had ever entered.

Lucius' study.

Within that room were where death eater meetings would occur and at regular occasions torture was heard. Then a cruel laughter rang out from it. Each and every time Draco passed it, a tingle ran down his spine and he would run up the stairs very quickly. Once or twice, he dared to stand there for a little longer just to hear what was going on.

Draco did know one thing for a fact about that room. It had a large fireplace, perfect for floo-ing a group of people at once. It was also the only fireplace not monitored in the house. That was the room they needed to get to.

As he told Hermione about the room, her forehead creased. She picked up the mysterious key and opened the door. She silently told Draco to pick up Snape. It proved to be a problem when Snape collapsed onto the floor, still out cold.

However, just as she was about to walk over, Snape's eyes fluttered open. For the first time, he allowed emotions to be shown in those cold black eyes and both could tell he was confused, even a little scared. They shushed him before motioning him to follow out the door.

Once outside, they initiated the invisibility charm onto the group and gripped hands. Hermione led the way, every once in a while glancing at the map that was tucked inside her pocket.

They ran down the stairs, almost tripping a few times until finally they were in front of the study once again. Hermione pulled out the map and studied it. Draco felt her squeeze his palm.

Lucius was in his study and he wasn't alone.

-**Author's Note**-

I have a lot of announcements to make so if you'd like to just review, go ahead and skip this.

1.) Firstly, sorry I haven't updated in ages (as KittyOfWonder has kindly reminded me). As I was writing this chapter, I noticed that I was getting really bad. My sentences were repetitive, my words were boring, and just the overall story-erg. So for the next week, I'll be going through the story, changing a couple of chapters here and there. If you'd like, you can go back and re-read the chapters. Most will be completed by next Friday.

2.) I'm going to create a weekly update. Every Friday, I'll be updating whatever I have finished. Sometime it'll be long, othertimes just a couple hundred words. Either way, I am absolutly not going to do what I have done for the past month and not update for months at a time.

3.) _Love and Hate_ will also be entered in , a audition only. So, wish me luck!

4.) This story is getting finished rather quickly. No questions have been brought up about when this story will finish but I think there will be at least 3 more chapters. I'm also toying with the idea of a sequel? We'll see.

And lastly a big, big, BIG thank you to anyone who has EVER reviewed for this story. I've missed them these past few months. Some of the ones right off the top of my head are **KittyOfWonder, CCBChunks** (Hermione is the phoenix. She's an animagus. And yes, Draco would be more skeptical, hence why I'm going back to change a few chapters.)** and Jomai. You guys have been reviewing right from the start. My love to you.**


	22. Escape

**Love and Hate**

By Tennisplaya278

_The stars will cry the blackest tears tonight.  
- Anthem of our Dying Day; Story of the Year-_

-Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own Harry Potter and neither do you. Bananas are yellow, tomatoes are red, stop reading this and read my story instead!-

Three pairs of feet shuffling along outside. Three hearts stopping. Three pairs of eyes widening. Three pairs of ears hearing voices within the room. Three minds as confused as ever. Three different people stuck under one roof.

Hermione's heart stopped. She leaned toward the wall, breathing very deeply, not daring to take out her map. Her breath quickened and beads of sweat began to roll down her face.

" – long now. I'm sure he is about to give in and it will not be long until he will become one of us. We must get rid of that mudblood. She is teaching him all sorts of ideas about equality and…_love. _He will understand one day. He will thank me…" There was a brief silence before he began to speak again. "You are dismissed. Go back to the dungeons."

The door creaked open and a tall man walked out. He had shoulder length black hair, yellowish skin and beady eyes. To everyone's amazement, Snape had just walked out the door! However, Hermione was sure that Snape was sitting on her right side…

As soon as the man walked out of eyesight, Draco lifted the spell off of them and proving that Snape was in fact there the entire time. His eyes were large and wide and he wondered what was going on. Unfortunately, someone else also wanted to know.

The door creaked open once more and this time Lucius walked out. His eyes immediately spotted the trio, leaning against the wall and frozen still with shock.

"Well, well," he began, mouth slightly smirking, "what do we have here? Two children and a worn out professor trespassing my property?"

Snape stood up, thin lips pressed together. "I found these two outside of your office. I thought you'd like to deal with them."

It took both Draco and Hermione a great deal of effort not to protest.

He shoved them both into Lucius' hands and began to walk off before Lucius called him back. "As enjoyable as that sounds, I am quite busy. The ministry has been looking up records and the Dark Lord has asked me to find something."

"Such as?"

Lucius just smirked. "Something valuable. Something very valuable. Now take these two down to the dungeons. You know what to do with them."

Grabbing them by their necks, he nodded and began to walk off toward the dungeons. Hermione and Draco struggled, convinced that Snape had turned evil. Draco shot Hermione a glare. It was _her_ fault they were here.

Once round the corner, Snape let go of them quickly. He looked at Draco quickly and said in a sharp voice, "Where is the exit Malfoy?"

Draco sneered at him. After all, Snape was just about to kill them! Why should he tell him? So, he simply crossed his arms and sneered like the young Malfoy boy within was telling him to.

Stubbornly Draco said no.

Snape looked at Hermione before looking back. "You do realize what you are risking by not showing us the way out? Hm? Your potion's master and a know-it-all bookworm?"

After another silence, Draco nodded and began to walk down the hall. They were on the second story and had to go down a flight of stairs before reaching the backdoor in which they came in.

On the way down, they ran into Lonny. The house elf's eyes went wide as they told him what they were about to attempt. Then Draco ordered him not to say a word to Lucius. Lonny nodded silently before scurrying away.

"Do you think it'll work?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Course it will. House elves can't deny a direct order." Draco replied.

Still Hermione worried about it. Dobby did it after all…

They headed down the stairs and out the back door, excited to be out. Draco took a deep breath of fresh air before stopping and hearing a distant voice. He whipped around and saw Lucius running down the stairs after him. Quickly, he pulled Snape and Hermione behind him as they ran into the woods.

BANG!

A red jet of light hit a spot a few feet away from them. Another one came closer. One last one hit Hermione squarely on the back. She collapsed and both Snape and Draco stopped. Then they did the only thing they could do. Snape quickly pulled out a pen and said "Portus". All three grabbed (In Hermione's case, the pen was placed into her hands) the pen and felt a familiar rush.

They were out.

&&&

"OW! GET YOUR ARSE OFF ME GRANGER!" Draco yelled as they landed in the middle of the Great Hall.

"ERG! I WOULD IF YOU WOULD MOVE!" Hermione yelled back as Snape landed on her.

"PROFESSOR! DO YOU MIND GETTING OFF OF US!?" They yelled in unison.

Around them, hundreds of pairs of eyes stared at the scene in interest. This was the most exciting thing to happen since Neville had turned the common room into a child's playroom. The 7th years were ruthlessly attacked by 3 year olds.

It was a while before the three of them noticed that they had landed right in the middle of dinner. When they did, Hermione blushed, Draco smirked and Snape merely got up and dusted himself off before walking to the staff table. All pairs of eyes were on him until he barked at them to continue eating.

Finally Draco and Hermione got up as well and left the Great Hall together, ready to explain everything to Dumbledore. But first, Hermione had a bit of explaining to do to the two boys who appeared in front of her, grim expressions on their faces.

**-Author's Notes-**

Thanks for reviewing guys. I'm glad I still have some of my earlier reviewers with me!

**KittyOfWonder**: Yes Narcissa is meant to be an annoying figure in the story. Just like I've imagined her. A snobby wife who sponges off her husband's wealth without doing anything. :)

**Jomai: **You're probably the only reviewer who has been with me since the beginning! Thanks again!

**MustLoveTheSimonGirl**: Thanks for the review.

**BlackDragonOfDeath13:** Thanks for reviewing.

**CCBChunks**: I can always count on you to ask the questions I never thought of. No Narcissa didn't wake up the house because Hermione had cast a silencing spell on the room. Lucius knows that Narcissa is dead, he just doesn't know exactly where she is.

**PadfootLover1**: I'd love to hear your ideas as I'm not good with those. :P

Thanks for making my day guys. Hope you like this chapter too, even though it's a bit short and written in a hurry.


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